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"slug": "from-anza-to-yorba-the-messy-history-behind-the-richmond-and-sunsets-street-names",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\"> View the full episode transcript.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We have gotten a lot of questions about street names in the western part of\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\"> San Francisco\u003c/a> — the Richmond and Sunset neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Why do the streets appear to follow an alphabetical pattern, only to break it often? Where do the names come from in the first place? Who chose them?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The answers are both more complicated (of course) and less logical than you might imagine. It all goes back — like so many things in San Francisco history — to the time right after the 1906 earthquake and fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back then, the primary means of communication was the mail. But delivering the mail to the correct recipient was a challenge because there were many repetitive street names or ones that were easy to confuse in the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, there were four Church streets — basically, anytime someone built a church, they’d name the street adjacent “Church Street”. And three sections of the city were named with numerical values.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There were numbered avenues out in the Richmond and Sunset, numerical streets downtown, and back then, the Bayview also went by numerical avenues, with “South” appended.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079487\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1602px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079487\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/Balboa-24th.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1602\" height=\"1180\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/Balboa-24th.jpg 1602w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/Balboa-24th-160x118.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/Balboa-24th-1536x1131.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1602px) 100vw, 1602px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Archival image of the Richmond District at Balboa and 32nd Avenue \u003ccite>(via Open SF History)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>ZIP codes had not been invented yet, so you can imagine the mess a mail carrier faced when trying to deliver a letter to 203 Church St. or 452 Fourth Ave.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The post office was unhappy,” said John Freeman, an amateur historian and member of the Western Neighborhood Association. He wrote \u003ca href=\"https://www.outsidelands.org/street-names.php\">several articles\u003c/a> about the history behind San Francisco street names. “We’re rebuilding a lot of San Francisco. There’s new streets. So, it’s the perfect time to go and attack a problem that had just grown since the 1850s.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1909, city leaders appointed a commission to come up with new names for the numbered avenues in both the western neighborhoods and the Bayview.[aside postID=news_12074947 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260221-SUNNYSIDECONSERVATORY00252_TV-KQED.jpg']In the Richmond and Sunset, the committee decided to honor the city’s Spanish heritage by naming streets after famous Spanish explorers or anyone who had an outsized influence in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They planned for the names to go alphabetically from First Avenue (what’s now Arguello) out to 26th Avenue. Then the alphabet would start over, but the following 26 streets would be named for saints. So, 27th Ave would have been San Antonio, 28th would become San Benito, etc.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when the proposal was put forward, outraged locals pushed back against the naming scheme.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The country had just fought the Spanish-American War in the Philippines, and some residents found the idea of naming streets after Spaniards unpatriotic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Suddenly it starts getting the ire of the locals who had community meetings and started saying, you know, we don’t want to be named after those lowlife Spaniards,” Freeman said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There was so much opposition that the committee gave up the scheme. They settled on renaming “First Avenue” to “Arguello” and the street just before the beach “La Playa,” which means “the beach” in Spanish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079485\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079485\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-1290352821.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1124\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-1290352821.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-1290352821-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-1290352821-1536x863.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-1290352821-1200x675.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Richmond District and Ocean Beach in San Francisco, CA \u003ccite>(Jason Doiy/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They left the numbered avenues, but used the alphabetical Spanish explorer idea for streets running east and west, instead. For some reason, residents didn’t oppose this slightly different approach. That’s how we got names like Anza, Balboa, and Cabrillo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But of course, nothing is simple. Even though they had generally settled on an alphabetical scheme that would extend out into the Sunset, there were already problems. First, the committee didn’t want to change the names of streets that extended out from downtown — like Geary, California and Sacramento streets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s why the alphabet starts mid-Richmond and goes south from there. “D Street” had already been renamed Fulton because it extended from downtown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Streets that would have been “E, F, and G” were taken up by Golden Gate Park, which had been developed but was still nascent. Once on the other side of the park, the pattern should have started up again with H street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You gotta realize this is 1909, and we’re celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln,” Freeman said. “So they’re naming all kinds of things after Abraham Lincoln.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079492\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1755px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12079492 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/1909-map_a.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1755\" height=\"1277\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/1909-map_a.jpg 1755w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/1909-map_a-160x116.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/1909-map_a-1536x1118.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1755px) 100vw, 1755px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A map of San Francisco, circa 1909 \u003ccite>(Courtesy Carolyn Karis)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>H street was a prominent boulevard edging Golden Gate Park, so they decided, “We’ll take out the H and will make it Lincoln. So already the game is getting changed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the Sunset residents had convened their own committee to come up with more “patriotic” names for Sunset streets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Irving Street is named for \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Irving\">Washington Irving\u003c/a>, a writer. Judah Street is named for \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Judah\">Theodore Judah\u003c/a>, a civil engineer largely responsible for the design and construction of the transcontinental railroad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He was the clever engineer, and nobody honored him for anything,” Freeman said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Mexican_War_Journal_and_Letters_of_R.html?id=UzaRMQEACAAJ\">Kirkham\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Ware_Lawton\">Lawton \u003c/a>were military officers and thus deemed appropriate by the neighborhood groups. But after Lawton comes Moraga, named for \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Joaqu%C3%ADn_Moraga\">José Joaquín Moraga\u003c/a>, a Spanish explorer. So, we’re back to the pattern.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079540\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1980px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079540\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-1400903691.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1980\" height=\"987\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-1400903691.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-1400903691-160x80.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-1400903691-1536x766.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Washington Irving, circa. 1860-1865. \u003ccite>(Photo by Heritage Art/Heritage Images/via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A\u003ca href=\"https://www.outsidelands.org/parkside-district.php\"> big development company \u003c/a>was already using the Spanish explorer naming convention, so the neighbors gave up fighting to change those names.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not many people lived that far out into the Sunset yet, anyway. Apart from the “Americanized” interlude from Lincoln to Kirkham, the pattern of Spanish explorers continued, with the exception of “X” and “Z.” X was going to be Xavier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, the committee ended up skipping an X-named street altogether when people claimed no one would be able to pronounce Xavier. Z street became Sloat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Logic kind of falls to the side,” Freeman said of the whole naming fiasco. “But it’s a good story because what they were trying to do didn’t work real well.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriousquestion]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"episode-transcript\">\u003c/a>Episode transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> If you travel from north to south on the west side of San Francisco – through the Richmond District, across Golden Gate Park, all the way through the Sunset – you may notice the streets running east to west follow a naming convention.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Computerized voice: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Anza. Balboa. Cabrillo. \u003c/span>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> A … B… C… And further south.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Computerized voice: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Quintara. Rivera. Santiago. Taraval.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Q … R… S… T… They’re alphabetized! A to Z! Well, almost…\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Carolyn Karis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There’s no D and no E. There is a Fulton but then there’s no G or H. \u003c/span>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> This is Carolyn Karras. (Care-as)\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Carolyn Karis:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I live in Ingleside Terraces in San Francisco. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">She’s a librarian and she’s into San Francisco history. So when a friend asked her about why a few of the letters are missing, she was frustrated when the answer didn’t turn up in some of the usual places she thought to look.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Carolyn Karis: \u003c/b>It just seems like the order should be complete once you start it, it should end up being complete. So what happened to those street names since it seemed to go from A to at least Y.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Here with some answers for Carolyn is Bay Curious editor and producer Katrina Schwartz. Hey, Katrina!\u003c/span>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Hey, Olivia. I gotta say, I’m excited to answer this question because it’s my home turf. I grew up in the Richmond District and went to school in the Sunset and I’ve wondered about this naming situation too.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> OK, start at the beginning, when did San Francisco start naming it’s streets.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Always street names, but not always a lot of logic to the names. There were a lot of duplicates, which was confusing to people.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Can you give me some examples of the kind of things that were confusing?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yeah, so there were 4 Church streets at one point. Any time there was a church, the locals would call the alley behind in Church Lane or Church way… you get the idea. But most confusing of all, there were three sets of ordinal numbered streets. Like today, there were the numbered Avenues out west, and the numbered streets downtown, but there were also numbered streets in the Bayview, those just had “South” appended to them. So, Bayview had 9th avenue South, for example.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It reminds me a lot of modern-day Washington D.C. If you get the cardinal direction wrong on the street name, you can wind up in the completely wrong place….\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And remember, this was a time when people primarily communicated by post. The mail came several times a day…and postal codes had not been invented yet. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So confusing.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Then 1906 earthquake happens. Things are in shambles. But it’s also an opportunity to make some changes. I spoke to John Freeman about all this. He’s a retired high school teacher, amateur historian and life-long Richmond District resident. He says one group in particular was not happy with the street name situation in SF.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>John Freeman: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So the post office was unhappy. We’re rebuilding a lot of San Francisco. There’s new streets, there’s new widening of streets and all that kind of stuff. So the perfect time to go and attack a problem that had just grown like over, you know, since the 1850s.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Right, so in 1909 they put together a committee of folks to look at this naming issue. It’s got a couple Board of Supervisors on it, a historian and someone from the post office. Pretty small group. And they’ve got this idea to rename the Richmond District avenues to honor San Francisco’s history…\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>John Freeman: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This of course, was a time when the whole thing of Spanish, that time period of the development of California was very romanticized.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">OK, so like Anza, Balboa, Cabrillo…\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> All explorers with some degree of connection to SF. And The idea, was to actually name all the ordinal streets using this scheme. So, First Avenue would become Arguello, second Balboa, third Cabrillo, etc. They’d do that all the way out to 26th and then they’d start over alphabetically, but add San or Santa. So, 27th Ave would have been San Antonio, 28th would become San Benito, etc.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> That’s strange because the actual Anza, Balboa, Cabrillo streets run east west. And the avenues are still numbered even today. What happened.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">John says the committee started sharing their ideas with the press and when residents of the Richmond and Sunset districts heard about it, they were pissed.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>John Feeman: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It starts getting the ire of the locals who had community meetings and started saying, you know, we don’t want to be named after those lowlife Spaniards.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s harsh.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yes, well, xenophobia was alive and well back then too. But also, you have to remember in 1909 the Spanish-American war had just ended 10 years before. Of course, that was actually fought in the Philippines. And as a west coast port, San Francisco had a big role in that war. People here would have known folks fighting…it felt like recent history to many people.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> So what happens with the whole naming conundrum then?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Basically, the committee backs off and says fine, we won’t change the names of the Avenues. To save face, they kept Arguello, which is basically First Avenue now. And they kept La Playa, the last name before the beach, which also means “beach” in Spanish. And then they used the Spanish name scheme going east west instead. Of course, they had to come up with a new A street because Arguello was already taken, so that’s how we got Anza.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>John Feeman: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Anza of course, he is definitely here. He explores the whole coast. He actually goes out and, you know, the only way he’s going to get through it, he went along to the actual ocean beach and then he comes inland and he did see as much as he possibly could. So he’s a legitimate early explorer.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> But, as Carolyn points out, they didn’t really follow the pattern going east west either. Why not?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Basically local politics. So, it had been agreed that any streets that extended out west from Downtown would not be changed. So, streets like California and Sacramento stayed the same. Geary Boulevard was sacrosanct. So this naming starts south of Geary. We get A, B, C and then what would have been D is actually “Fulton street.” That’s because it was a street extending from downtown, so they didn’t want to change it. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Since they had an F, they just kept going, except G was basically Golden Gate Park, which had been established in 1870, but was still nascent. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That brings us to H street, which should have run next to the park on the south side. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>John Freeman: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And it’s supposed to go all the way out to Sloat in alphabetical pattern. Well, h then this is eight nine, and we’re celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, so they’re naming all kinds of things after Abraham Lincoln. What a wonderful thing we’ll do away with those four little alleys down south of market that were named after Lincoln. And we’ll name this Grand Boulevard that is going to go alongside Golden Gate Park. We’ll take out the H and will make it Lincoln. So already the game is getting changed. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">OK…but Irving, Judah, Kirkum, Lawton…also not Spanish names.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Correct. This is where more local politics came into play. There was a very active group of residents in the inner Sunset who DID NOT want Spanish names. They wanted “American” names. So they lobbied hard for Irving…after washington Irving the writer. Judah…for \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Judah\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Theodore Judah\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a civil engineer largely responsible for the design and construction of the transcontinental railroad.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>John Freeman:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> He was the clever engineer and nobody honored him for anything.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And then \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Mexican_War_Journal_and_Letters_of_R.html?id=UzaRMQEACAAJ\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kirkham\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Ware_Lawton\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lawton \u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">were military officers and thus deemed appropriate by the neighborhood groups. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> But after Lawton comes Moraga, named for \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Joaqu%C3%ADn_Moraga\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">José Joaquín Moraga\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a Spanish explorer. So, we’re back to the pattern. What happened?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Development. The Parkside [Realty Company] owned a lot of land in the outer Sunset and they were developing plots to sell. They’d already started naming the streets in their section according to the proposed Spanish explorer scheme. So we basically have Spanish names all the way out to Y.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But there’s no X or Z street.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb> Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yep, more racism. X was supposed to Xavier Street, but the committee didn’t think anyone could pronounce it, so they just skipped it. And many of those other names aren’t actually Spanish explorers anyway. Taravel was a Native American guide who was part of the Anza expedition. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> So we have alphabetical-ish, Spanish-ish street names.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Totally. And, they were trying to work fast because they had to have it all done by the end of 1909 when the mayoral administration changed. So, maps after 1910 show the new names.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> Our question asker Carolyn actually mentioned an old map she’d found… \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cb>Carolyn Karis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">W\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">e have a couple of older maps that we were looking at and one of them is 1909 map that we picked up somewhere and that has the letters. So it says like ABC above the park and then below the park, it just has the letter. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> So presumably this was printed between the time when the plan for the alphabetical streets was made, and when the final names hadn’t been chosen yet. So, this is actually a very cool little piece of history.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, a little time capsule window into the past. Thanks for all your reporting on this, Katrina.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">My pleasure.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thanks to Carolyn Karras for asking this week’s question. You selected it in one of our monthly voting rounds and hey – our April voting round is now up and has some good questions…\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Question 1: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">How many Bay food businesses are still in business after 10 years?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Question 2: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Why does the SF Parks and Recreation still manage properties outside of the city limits?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Question 3: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m curious about the history of Bay Area communal living and what makes things a communal living situation vs cult.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Which of those do you want to hear on the show? Cast your vote at \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"http://baycurious.org\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">BayCurious.org\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. And while you’re there, sign up for our monthly newsletter where we answer even more listener questions. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Bay Curious is made in San Francisco at member-supported KQED. Our show is produced by… and me Olivia Allen-Price. With extra support from … and everyone on Team KQED. Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco Northern California Local.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m Olivia Allen-Price. Have a good one.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Streets on San Francisco’s west side appear to follow an alphabetical naming convention with Spanish names. But look closer, and there are some missing letters. Why?",
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"title": "From Anza to Yorba: The Messy History Behind the Richmond's and Sunset’s Street Names | KQED",
"description": "Streets on San Francisco’s west side appear to follow an alphabetical naming convention with Spanish names. But look closer, and there are some missing letters. Why?",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\"> View the full episode transcript.\u003c/a>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We have gotten a lot of questions about street names in the western part of\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\"> San Francisco\u003c/a> — the Richmond and Sunset neighborhoods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Why do the streets appear to follow an alphabetical pattern, only to break it often? Where do the names come from in the first place? Who chose them?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The answers are both more complicated (of course) and less logical than you might imagine. It all goes back — like so many things in San Francisco history — to the time right after the 1906 earthquake and fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back then, the primary means of communication was the mail. But delivering the mail to the correct recipient was a challenge because there were many repetitive street names or ones that were easy to confuse in the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, there were four Church streets — basically, anytime someone built a church, they’d name the street adjacent “Church Street”. And three sections of the city were named with numerical values.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There were numbered avenues out in the Richmond and Sunset, numerical streets downtown, and back then, the Bayview also went by numerical avenues, with “South” appended.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079487\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1602px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079487\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/Balboa-24th.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1602\" height=\"1180\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/Balboa-24th.jpg 1602w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/Balboa-24th-160x118.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/Balboa-24th-1536x1131.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1602px) 100vw, 1602px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Archival image of the Richmond District at Balboa and 32nd Avenue \u003ccite>(via Open SF History)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>ZIP codes had not been invented yet, so you can imagine the mess a mail carrier faced when trying to deliver a letter to 203 Church St. or 452 Fourth Ave.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The post office was unhappy,” said John Freeman, an amateur historian and member of the Western Neighborhood Association. He wrote \u003ca href=\"https://www.outsidelands.org/street-names.php\">several articles\u003c/a> about the history behind San Francisco street names. “We’re rebuilding a lot of San Francisco. There’s new streets. So, it’s the perfect time to go and attack a problem that had just grown since the 1850s.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1909, city leaders appointed a commission to come up with new names for the numbered avenues in both the western neighborhoods and the Bayview.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In the Richmond and Sunset, the committee decided to honor the city’s Spanish heritage by naming streets after famous Spanish explorers or anyone who had an outsized influence in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They planned for the names to go alphabetically from First Avenue (what’s now Arguello) out to 26th Avenue. Then the alphabet would start over, but the following 26 streets would be named for saints. So, 27th Ave would have been San Antonio, 28th would become San Benito, etc.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when the proposal was put forward, outraged locals pushed back against the naming scheme.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The country had just fought the Spanish-American War in the Philippines, and some residents found the idea of naming streets after Spaniards unpatriotic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Suddenly it starts getting the ire of the locals who had community meetings and started saying, you know, we don’t want to be named after those lowlife Spaniards,” Freeman said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There was so much opposition that the committee gave up the scheme. They settled on renaming “First Avenue” to “Arguello” and the street just before the beach “La Playa,” which means “the beach” in Spanish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079485\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079485\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-1290352821.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1124\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-1290352821.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-1290352821-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-1290352821-1536x863.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-1290352821-1200x675.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Richmond District and Ocean Beach in San Francisco, CA \u003ccite>(Jason Doiy/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>They left the numbered avenues, but used the alphabetical Spanish explorer idea for streets running east and west, instead. For some reason, residents didn’t oppose this slightly different approach. That’s how we got names like Anza, Balboa, and Cabrillo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But of course, nothing is simple. Even though they had generally settled on an alphabetical scheme that would extend out into the Sunset, there were already problems. First, the committee didn’t want to change the names of streets that extended out from downtown — like Geary, California and Sacramento streets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s why the alphabet starts mid-Richmond and goes south from there. “D Street” had already been renamed Fulton because it extended from downtown.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Streets that would have been “E, F, and G” were taken up by Golden Gate Park, which had been developed but was still nascent. Once on the other side of the park, the pattern should have started up again with H street.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You gotta realize this is 1909, and we’re celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln,” Freeman said. “So they’re naming all kinds of things after Abraham Lincoln.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079492\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1755px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12079492 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/1909-map_a.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1755\" height=\"1277\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/1909-map_a.jpg 1755w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/1909-map_a-160x116.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/1909-map_a-1536x1118.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1755px) 100vw, 1755px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A map of San Francisco, circa 1909 \u003ccite>(Courtesy Carolyn Karis)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>H street was a prominent boulevard edging Golden Gate Park, so they decided, “We’ll take out the H and will make it Lincoln. So already the game is getting changed.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, the Sunset residents had convened their own committee to come up with more “patriotic” names for Sunset streets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Irving Street is named for \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Irving\">Washington Irving\u003c/a>, a writer. Judah Street is named for \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Judah\">Theodore Judah\u003c/a>, a civil engineer largely responsible for the design and construction of the transcontinental railroad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He was the clever engineer, and nobody honored him for anything,” Freeman said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Mexican_War_Journal_and_Letters_of_R.html?id=UzaRMQEACAAJ\">Kirkham\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Ware_Lawton\">Lawton \u003c/a>were military officers and thus deemed appropriate by the neighborhood groups. But after Lawton comes Moraga, named for \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Joaqu%C3%ADn_Moraga\">José Joaquín Moraga\u003c/a>, a Spanish explorer. So, we’re back to the pattern.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12079540\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1980px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12079540\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-1400903691.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1980\" height=\"987\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-1400903691.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-1400903691-160x80.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-1400903691-1536x766.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Washington Irving, circa. 1860-1865. \u003ccite>(Photo by Heritage Art/Heritage Images/via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A\u003ca href=\"https://www.outsidelands.org/parkside-district.php\"> big development company \u003c/a>was already using the Spanish explorer naming convention, so the neighbors gave up fighting to change those names.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not many people lived that far out into the Sunset yet, anyway. Apart from the “Americanized” interlude from Lincoln to Kirkham, the pattern of Spanish explorers continued, with the exception of “X” and “Z.” X was going to be Xavier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, the committee ended up skipping an X-named street altogether when people claimed no one would be able to pronounce Xavier. Z street became Sloat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Logic kind of falls to the side,” Freeman said of the whole naming fiasco. “But it’s a good story because what they were trying to do didn’t work real well.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003ca id=\"episode-transcript\">\u003c/a>Episode transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> If you travel from north to south on the west side of San Francisco – through the Richmond District, across Golden Gate Park, all the way through the Sunset – you may notice the streets running east to west follow a naming convention.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Computerized voice: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Anza. Balboa. Cabrillo. \u003c/span>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> A … B… C… And further south.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Computerized voice: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Quintara. Rivera. Santiago. Taraval.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Q … R… S… T… They’re alphabetized! A to Z! Well, almost…\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Carolyn Karis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There’s no D and no E. There is a Fulton but then there’s no G or H. \u003c/span>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> This is Carolyn Karras. (Care-as)\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Carolyn Karis:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> I live in Ingleside Terraces in San Francisco. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">She’s a librarian and she’s into San Francisco history. So when a friend asked her about why a few of the letters are missing, she was frustrated when the answer didn’t turn up in some of the usual places she thought to look.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Carolyn Karis: \u003c/b>It just seems like the order should be complete once you start it, it should end up being complete. So what happened to those street names since it seemed to go from A to at least Y.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Here with some answers for Carolyn is Bay Curious editor and producer Katrina Schwartz. Hey, Katrina!\u003c/span>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/b>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Hey, Olivia. I gotta say, I’m excited to answer this question because it’s my home turf. I grew up in the Richmond District and went to school in the Sunset and I’ve wondered about this naming situation too.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> OK, start at the beginning, when did San Francisco start naming it’s streets.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Always street names, but not always a lot of logic to the names. There were a lot of duplicates, which was confusing to people.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Can you give me some examples of the kind of things that were confusing?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yeah, so there were 4 Church streets at one point. Any time there was a church, the locals would call the alley behind in Church Lane or Church way… you get the idea. But most confusing of all, there were three sets of ordinal numbered streets. Like today, there were the numbered Avenues out west, and the numbered streets downtown, but there were also numbered streets in the Bayview, those just had “South” appended to them. So, Bayview had 9th avenue South, for example.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It reminds me a lot of modern-day Washington D.C. If you get the cardinal direction wrong on the street name, you can wind up in the completely wrong place….\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And remember, this was a time when people primarily communicated by post. The mail came several times a day…and postal codes had not been invented yet. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So confusing.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Then 1906 earthquake happens. Things are in shambles. But it’s also an opportunity to make some changes. I spoke to John Freeman about all this. He’s a retired high school teacher, amateur historian and life-long Richmond District resident. He says one group in particular was not happy with the street name situation in SF.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>John Freeman: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So the post office was unhappy. We’re rebuilding a lot of San Francisco. There’s new streets, there’s new widening of streets and all that kind of stuff. So the perfect time to go and attack a problem that had just grown like over, you know, since the 1850s.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Right, so in 1909 they put together a committee of folks to look at this naming issue. It’s got a couple Board of Supervisors on it, a historian and someone from the post office. Pretty small group. And they’ve got this idea to rename the Richmond District avenues to honor San Francisco’s history…\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>John Freeman: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">This of course, was a time when the whole thing of Spanish, that time period of the development of California was very romanticized.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">OK, so like Anza, Balboa, Cabrillo…\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> All explorers with some degree of connection to SF. And The idea, was to actually name all the ordinal streets using this scheme. So, First Avenue would become Arguello, second Balboa, third Cabrillo, etc. They’d do that all the way out to 26th and then they’d start over alphabetically, but add San or Santa. So, 27th Ave would have been San Antonio, 28th would become San Benito, etc.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> That’s strange because the actual Anza, Balboa, Cabrillo streets run east west. And the avenues are still numbered even today. What happened.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">John says the committee started sharing their ideas with the press and when residents of the Richmond and Sunset districts heard about it, they were pissed.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>John Feeman: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It starts getting the ire of the locals who had community meetings and started saying, you know, we don’t want to be named after those lowlife Spaniards.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s harsh.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yes, well, xenophobia was alive and well back then too. But also, you have to remember in 1909 the Spanish-American war had just ended 10 years before. Of course, that was actually fought in the Philippines. And as a west coast port, San Francisco had a big role in that war. People here would have known folks fighting…it felt like recent history to many people.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> So what happens with the whole naming conundrum then?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Basically, the committee backs off and says fine, we won’t change the names of the Avenues. To save face, they kept Arguello, which is basically First Avenue now. And they kept La Playa, the last name before the beach, which also means “beach” in Spanish. And then they used the Spanish name scheme going east west instead. Of course, they had to come up with a new A street because Arguello was already taken, so that’s how we got Anza.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>John Feeman: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Anza of course, he is definitely here. He explores the whole coast. He actually goes out and, you know, the only way he’s going to get through it, he went along to the actual ocean beach and then he comes inland and he did see as much as he possibly could. So he’s a legitimate early explorer.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> But, as Carolyn points out, they didn’t really follow the pattern going east west either. Why not?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Basically local politics. So, it had been agreed that any streets that extended out west from Downtown would not be changed. So, streets like California and Sacramento stayed the same. Geary Boulevard was sacrosanct. So this naming starts south of Geary. We get A, B, C and then what would have been D is actually “Fulton street.” That’s because it was a street extending from downtown, so they didn’t want to change it. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Since they had an F, they just kept going, except G was basically Golden Gate Park, which had been established in 1870, but was still nascent. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That brings us to H street, which should have run next to the park on the south side. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>John Freeman: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And it’s supposed to go all the way out to Sloat in alphabetical pattern. Well, h then this is eight nine, and we’re celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, so they’re naming all kinds of things after Abraham Lincoln. What a wonderful thing we’ll do away with those four little alleys down south of market that were named after Lincoln. And we’ll name this Grand Boulevard that is going to go alongside Golden Gate Park. We’ll take out the H and will make it Lincoln. So already the game is getting changed. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">OK…but Irving, Judah, Kirkum, Lawton…also not Spanish names.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Correct. This is where more local politics came into play. There was a very active group of residents in the inner Sunset who DID NOT want Spanish names. They wanted “American” names. So they lobbied hard for Irving…after washington Irving the writer. Judah…for \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Judah\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Theodore Judah\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a civil engineer largely responsible for the design and construction of the transcontinental railroad.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>John Freeman:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> He was the clever engineer and nobody honored him for anything.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And then \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Mexican_War_Journal_and_Letters_of_R.html?id=UzaRMQEACAAJ\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kirkham\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Ware_Lawton\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lawton \u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">were military officers and thus deemed appropriate by the neighborhood groups. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> But after Lawton comes Moraga, named for \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Joaqu%C3%ADn_Moraga\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">José Joaquín Moraga\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a Spanish explorer. So, we’re back to the pattern. What happened?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Development. The Parkside [Realty Company] owned a lot of land in the outer Sunset and they were developing plots to sell. They’d already started naming the streets in their section according to the proposed Spanish explorer scheme. So we basically have Spanish names all the way out to Y.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But there’s no X or Z street.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb> Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yep, more racism. X was supposed to Xavier Street, but the committee didn’t think anyone could pronounce it, so they just skipped it. And many of those other names aren’t actually Spanish explorers anyway. Taravel was a Native American guide who was part of the Anza expedition. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> So we have alphabetical-ish, Spanish-ish street names.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Totally. And, they were trying to work fast because they had to have it all done by the end of 1909 when the mayoral administration changed. So, maps after 1910 show the new names.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> Our question asker Carolyn actually mentioned an old map she’d found… \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003cb>Carolyn Karis: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">W\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">e have a couple of older maps that we were looking at and one of them is 1909 map that we picked up somewhere and that has the letters. So it says like ABC above the park and then below the park, it just has the letter. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz:\u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> So presumably this was printed between the time when the plan for the alphabetical streets was made, and when the final names hadn’t been chosen yet. So, this is actually a very cool little piece of history.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yeah, a little time capsule window into the past. Thanks for all your reporting on this, Katrina.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Katrina Schwartz: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">My pleasure.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thanks to Carolyn Karras for asking this week’s question. You selected it in one of our monthly voting rounds and hey – our April voting round is now up and has some good questions…\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Question 1: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">How many Bay food businesses are still in business after 10 years?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Question 2: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Why does the SF Parks and Recreation still manage properties outside of the city limits?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Question 3: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m curious about the history of Bay Area communal living and what makes things a communal living situation vs cult.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/b>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Which of those do you want to hear on the show? Cast your vote at \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"http://baycurious.org\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">BayCurious.org\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. And while you’re there, sign up for our monthly newsletter where we answer even more listener questions. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Bay Curious is made in San Francisco at member-supported KQED. Our show is produced by… and me Olivia Allen-Price. With extra support from … and everyone on Team KQED. Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco Northern California Local.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I’m Olivia Allen-Price. Have a good one.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>At a recent Sunday \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073604/2026-ramadan-mubarak-where-to-find-iftar-suhoor-san-francisco-bay-area\">iftar in San Francisco\u003c/a>, Sarah Aamir was thrilled to announce that someone donated a whopping $5,000 to the charity of the evening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Thank you for thinking of the people of Sudan. One dollar is a lot in Sudan. 5K?” she said, addressing a crowd of 200 in a wide office space in the city’s Mission District.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The funds would help \u003ca href=\"https://sadagaat-usa.org/\">Sadagaat USA\u003c/a>, a humanitarian organization that supports community kitchens in Sudan — a nation dealing with \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR57UUiMGDs\">a years-long civil war\u003c/a> and what the \u003ca href=\"https://www.emro.who.int/sdn/sudan-news/attacks-push-sudans-health-system-to-the-brink.html\">United Nations\u003c/a> has called the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, setting off widespread displacement, hunger and violence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the Bay Area, the crowd applauded, giddy after breaking their Ramadan fast together over plates of chicken shawarma, gima, a savory minced meat dish, salad and rice. While the holy month is known for late-night meals and gatherings, another major component of this period is charity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think a lot about people back home,” Aamir said. “I have this food, and they don’t, and it’s very easy to feel guilty.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12075987\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12075987\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-interfaithiftar00156_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-interfaithiftar00156_TV_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-interfaithiftar00156_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-interfaithiftar00156_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sarah Aamir, from the Nafeer Collective, fundraises for humanitarian aid in Sudan during iftar, the second meal of the day during Ramadan, in San Francisco on March 1, 2026. Iftar dinners during Ramadan are used as a vehicle for charity and activism. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But it has helped her, this Ramadan, to “get some people moving, get some people interested in learning about Sudan.” The March 1 iftar ultimately raised over $140,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year, Muslims and community members across the Bay Area have attended iftar dinners for a range of causes, from \u003ca href=\"https://partiful.com/e/0K52xHUiJ5EKqcBV5x2J\">money for Gazans\u003c/a> to \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DVIQRRfDlT3/\">clean water access in Pakistan\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Haneen Sidahmed, one of the presenters at the San Francisco “An Iftar In Sudan,” said the act of fasting can help foster community among Muslims and reflect more globally.[aside postID=news_12073604 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/RamadanGetty.jpg']“It’s almost like an equalizer,” Sidahmed said. “The ethos of Ramadan is usually, ‘How do we give back generosity,’ especially with folks who are affected by all kinds of calamities and crises. That’s really where the fundraising spirit comes through and why the Ramadan fundraisers are so powerful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ilham Abuanga, who was born in Sudan and now lives in Antioch, said she attended the San Francisco iftar to show support for her people. It’s been difficult to be away from her relatives during the ongoing war — a thought that she said keeps her up at night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sometimes, it feels like you are lost. Sometimes, it feels you’re disconnected,” said Abuanga, whose family runs \u003ca href=\"https://www.sarrascharity.org/\">a charity\u003c/a> for pregnant women in Sudan, in honor of her late sister. “The only thing we can do is pray and give dua and aid them financially. But it’s very sad, and it’s heartbreaking.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Iftar dinners have also been a way for people of various faiths to break bread with each other and, as a result, get to know one another.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Palo Alto, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church recently hosted an interfaith iftar with the American Muslim Voice Foundation, an advocacy organization that has regularly hosted the event after Sept. 11, 2001, and the rise of anti-Muslim sentiment in the U.S. The event drew 180 people, according to the organizers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12075990\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12075990\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-interfaithiftar00580_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-interfaithiftar00580_TV_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-interfaithiftar00580_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-interfaithiftar00580_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ilham Abuanga eats her iftar dinner, the second meal of the day during Ramadan, in San Francisco on March 1, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I always encourage people … please sit with somebody you don’t know. That’s the whole idea, we are providing these experiences,” said Samina Sundas, one of the organizers, who has been hosting interfaith iftar dinners in her home since 2003. “Our mission is replacing a culture of fear, despair and division with a culture of hope, inclusion and peace.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Sunday iftar to gather people of all different backgrounds felt especially meaningful, since it was also the weekend the U.S. ordered strikes on Iran, leading to subsequent violence in the region, said Rev. Nancy Ross, the associate rector of St. Mark’s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There were so many people who were so happy to be together,” Ross said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12075083\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12075083 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-INTERFAITHIFTAR00457_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-INTERFAITHIFTAR00457_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-INTERFAITHIFTAR00457_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-INTERFAITHIFTAR00457_TV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An attendee enjoys his iftar dinner, the second meal of the day during Ramadan, in San Francisco on March 1, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For the San Francisco Bay Area branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Ramadan is an opportunity to educate people about their rights, particularly during a time of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/immigration\">increased immigration enforcement\u003c/a> by the Trump administration, Executive Director Zahra Billoo said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier this year, according to the advocacy group, it helped \u003ca href=\"https://ca.cair.com/press-release/cair-sfba-secures-release-of-client-after-federal-court-grants-habeas-petition-against-unlawful-ice-detention/\">release\u003c/a> a client who was taken into ICE detention and had a pending immigration court date.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Billoo said CAIR has seen an increase in requests for immigration-related support.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12075082\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12075082\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-INTERFAITHIFTAR00383_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-INTERFAITHIFTAR00383_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-INTERFAITHIFTAR00383_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-INTERFAITHIFTAR00383_TV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Attendees pray Maghrib, an Islamic prayer done after sunset, before iftar, the second meal of the day during Ramadan, in San Francisco on March 1, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the lead-up to Ramadan, she added, anxious questions began to arise from the Muslim community, including, “Is it safe to come to the mosque? What can individuals do to remain safe, and what can mosques do to protect themselves?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In response, during the holy month, Billoo and CAIR representatives have visited over 50 different mosques across the Bay Area during iftar and night prayers, about the services the group offers and how they can get help if they are “confronted with the civil rights violation or immigration enforcement.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The vicious way in which this administration has been attacking minority communities does contribute to the need to deepen our relationships and bonds across communities,” Billoo said. “In Ramadan, Muslims increase their worship, and so we increase our outreach to protect them as they do so and reach them as they congregate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the Bay Area, the crowd applauded, giddy after breaking their Ramadan fast together over plates of chicken shawarma, gima, a savory minced meat dish, salad and rice. While the holy month is known for late-night meals and gatherings, another major component of this period is charity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think a lot about people back home,” Aamir said. “I have this food, and they don’t, and it’s very easy to feel guilty.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12075987\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12075987\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-interfaithiftar00156_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-interfaithiftar00156_TV_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-interfaithiftar00156_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-interfaithiftar00156_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sarah Aamir, from the Nafeer Collective, fundraises for humanitarian aid in Sudan during iftar, the second meal of the day during Ramadan, in San Francisco on March 1, 2026. Iftar dinners during Ramadan are used as a vehicle for charity and activism. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But it has helped her, this Ramadan, to “get some people moving, get some people interested in learning about Sudan.” The March 1 iftar ultimately raised over $140,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year, Muslims and community members across the Bay Area have attended iftar dinners for a range of causes, from \u003ca href=\"https://partiful.com/e/0K52xHUiJ5EKqcBV5x2J\">money for Gazans\u003c/a> to \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DVIQRRfDlT3/\">clean water access in Pakistan\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Haneen Sidahmed, one of the presenters at the San Francisco “An Iftar In Sudan,” said the act of fasting can help foster community among Muslims and reflect more globally.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“It’s almost like an equalizer,” Sidahmed said. “The ethos of Ramadan is usually, ‘How do we give back generosity,’ especially with folks who are affected by all kinds of calamities and crises. That’s really where the fundraising spirit comes through and why the Ramadan fundraisers are so powerful.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ilham Abuanga, who was born in Sudan and now lives in Antioch, said she attended the San Francisco iftar to show support for her people. It’s been difficult to be away from her relatives during the ongoing war — a thought that she said keeps her up at night.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sometimes, it feels like you are lost. Sometimes, it feels you’re disconnected,” said Abuanga, whose family runs \u003ca href=\"https://www.sarrascharity.org/\">a charity\u003c/a> for pregnant women in Sudan, in honor of her late sister. “The only thing we can do is pray and give dua and aid them financially. But it’s very sad, and it’s heartbreaking.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Iftar dinners have also been a way for people of various faiths to break bread with each other and, as a result, get to know one another.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Palo Alto, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church recently hosted an interfaith iftar with the American Muslim Voice Foundation, an advocacy organization that has regularly hosted the event after Sept. 11, 2001, and the rise of anti-Muslim sentiment in the U.S. The event drew 180 people, according to the organizers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12075990\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12075990\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-interfaithiftar00580_TV_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-interfaithiftar00580_TV_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-interfaithiftar00580_TV_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-interfaithiftar00580_TV_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ilham Abuanga eats her iftar dinner, the second meal of the day during Ramadan, in San Francisco on March 1, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I always encourage people … please sit with somebody you don’t know. That’s the whole idea, we are providing these experiences,” said Samina Sundas, one of the organizers, who has been hosting interfaith iftar dinners in her home since 2003. “Our mission is replacing a culture of fear, despair and division with a culture of hope, inclusion and peace.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Sunday iftar to gather people of all different backgrounds felt especially meaningful, since it was also the weekend the U.S. ordered strikes on Iran, leading to subsequent violence in the region, said Rev. Nancy Ross, the associate rector of St. Mark’s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There were so many people who were so happy to be together,” Ross said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12075083\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12075083 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-INTERFAITHIFTAR00457_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-INTERFAITHIFTAR00457_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-INTERFAITHIFTAR00457_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-INTERFAITHIFTAR00457_TV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An attendee enjoys his iftar dinner, the second meal of the day during Ramadan, in San Francisco on March 1, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For the San Francisco Bay Area branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Ramadan is an opportunity to educate people about their rights, particularly during a time of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/immigration\">increased immigration enforcement\u003c/a> by the Trump administration, Executive Director Zahra Billoo said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier this year, according to the advocacy group, it helped \u003ca href=\"https://ca.cair.com/press-release/cair-sfba-secures-release-of-client-after-federal-court-grants-habeas-petition-against-unlawful-ice-detention/\">release\u003c/a> a client who was taken into ICE detention and had a pending immigration court date.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Billoo said CAIR has seen an increase in requests for immigration-related support.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12075082\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12075082\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-INTERFAITHIFTAR00383_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-INTERFAITHIFTAR00383_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-INTERFAITHIFTAR00383_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260301-INTERFAITHIFTAR00383_TV-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Attendees pray Maghrib, an Islamic prayer done after sunset, before iftar, the second meal of the day during Ramadan, in San Francisco on March 1, 2026. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the lead-up to Ramadan, she added, anxious questions began to arise from the Muslim community, including, “Is it safe to come to the mosque? What can individuals do to remain safe, and what can mosques do to protect themselves?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In response, during the holy month, Billoo and CAIR representatives have visited over 50 different mosques across the Bay Area during iftar and night prayers, about the services the group offers and how they can get help if they are “confronted with the civil rights violation or immigration enforcement.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The vicious way in which this administration has been attacking minority communities does contribute to the need to deepen our relationships and bonds across communities,” Billoo said. “In Ramadan, Muslims increase their worship, and so we increase our outreach to protect them as they do so and reach them as they congregate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "tips-for-hosting-parties-san-francisco-bay-area-making-friends-party-food-decorations-music",
"title": "Was ‘Be More Social’ Your 2026 Goal? Expert Advice for Hosting at Your Home",
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"headTitle": "Was ‘Be More Social’ Your 2026 Goal? Expert Advice for Hosting at Your Home | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Last year, \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Atlantic \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">declared that \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2025/01/throw-more-parties-loneliness/681203/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“Americans Need to Party More.”\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The story touched several beats you may have become familiar with in the last few years of media headlines: Loneliness and isolation have become \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an epidemic.\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Americans have \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.americansurveycenter.org/research/the-state-of-american-friendship-change-challenges-and-loss/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fewer friends\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> than ever before. And if they \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">do \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">have friends? They barely have \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/09/loneliness-epidemic-friendship-shortage/679689/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">time to see them\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before you start feeling like you’re personally responsible for all this, it’s worth noting that — as \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.happiness.hks.harvard.edu/february-2025-issue/the-friendship-recession-the-lost-art-of-connecting\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Harvard’s Leadership & Happiness Laboratory\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> points out — a lot of the forces behind our increased isolation are structural.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These factors include work becoming “a dominant social identity,” economic pressures, suburban sprawl, a lack of “\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://esl.uchicago.edu/2023/11/01/third-places-what-are-they-and-why-are-they-important-to-american-culture/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">third places\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">” and, of course, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@ibdagoat/video/7328433619096079662?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that damn\u003c/span>\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz7FRPabLPI\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">phone\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But Priya Parker, author of \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Art Of Gathering\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, has \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/transcripts/nx-s1-5667582\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">one concrete step to offer you personally\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: hosting people in your home more.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“Everybody’s longing for community,” \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/transcripts/nx-s1-5667582\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Parker told NPR’s Life Kit\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> earlier this year. “We long to be part of a village. We long to have people come over and help us.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“But when’s the last time you’ve hosted something?” she asked. “When’s the last time you have helped somebody move?”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In fact, according to the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2025/01/throw-more-parties-loneliness/681203/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bureau of Labor Statistic\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">s in 2024, only \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://data.bls.gov/pdq/SurveyOutputServlet\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">4% of Americans \u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">attended or hosted a social event on an average weekend or holiday. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“The best way to get a seat at the table is to host the table,” Parker said. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Someone has to do it’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All this, I’ll say, has been on \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">my \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mind a while. And when I started to research the topic for this very story, the Instagram algorithm started showing me posts from Bay Area groups dedicated to bringing people together. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These included like the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/leaveyourhouseproject/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Leave Your House Project\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which promises “Adult Field Trips,” and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/dosti.sf/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dosti\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Urdu for “friend,”), a Bay Area-based social club for 20-something Muslims.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12075625\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1973px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12075625\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/hosting1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1973\" height=\"1480\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/hosting1.jpg 1973w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/hosting1-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/hosting1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1973px) 100vw, 1973px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Leave Your House Project promises “adult field trips” in the Bay Area. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Jordan Senigar)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“I’m definitely going to make sure everyone has friends,” said Imaan Sultan, Dosti’s founder. Her group’s events include picnics, book swaps and Halloween parties — all advertised with eye-catching pink-and-green Instagram posts and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://partiful.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Partiful\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> pages. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“I just hate waiting for things to happen, and I was like: ‘\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Someone\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has to do it,’” she said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sultan said she’s been struck by the sheer hunger for Dosti’s events. It took under an hour for her social media post announcing a Dosti \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073604/2026-ramadan-mubarak-where-to-find-iftar-suhoor-san-francisco-bay-area\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Iftar dinner\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for Ramadan in Palo Alto to receive over 200 sign-ups — with a growing waitlist. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Luckily, Sultan has some experience hosting larger groups: During her college days, she hosted matcha cafes for 60 people in her small Berkeley apartment. However, now that she’s a year out of college, the need for organizing events for working young professionals strikes her as even more necessary.[aside postID=news_12074541 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/LAOlympicsGetty.jpg']\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sultan wasn’t finding the tech scene she was in super social. And she’d often hear others in her circle bemoaning the idea of their losing connections when friends got married or worse: \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2025/sf-worker-losses-ny/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">moved to New York\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This sense of disconnect was in stark contrast to her childhood growing up in the Middle East, when Sultan said she recalled constantly meeting new friends and being “always around people.” Here in the Bay Area, she’s observed “a little bit of a difference in social culture and tendency of people to do that, at least in the SF community.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jordan Senigar, the founder of the Leave Your House Project and East Bay resident, echoed this. “A lot of people want connection, but the Bay Area can honestly feel really overwhelming and expensive,” she said. “It’s really easy to feel like community isn’t accessible if you don’t fit a specific mold.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“Especially in SF,” Sultan said, “where people are so enamored with tech and digital experiences, I think people have forgotten that at the end of the day … we crave connection.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With all this in mind? I spoke to Sultan and other Bay Area hosts on how to throw an excellent party — from logistics like invites and food to vibes like music and themes to getting your friends to \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">actually\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> show up. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What \u003ci>kind \u003c/i>of event do I want to host?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The main goal of your first event is getting people to just show up, Sultan said. So make your gathering something easy for \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And the possibilities are endless. According to Anita Osuala, a spokesperson with Partiful — the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://partiful.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">popular online platform\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that allows people to create customizable private or public event pages — users have been getting creative with events that go beyond birthdays and house parties, according to trends she said she’s observed from “a mix of both product data and behavioral patterns we see across invites on the platform.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Osuala said Partiful is seeing the platform used for more “admin night” invites and chore parties where, as she put it, “people tackle life tasks together”: like paying the bills and scheduling dreaded dental appointments. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12075651\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1987px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12075651\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/newdosti3.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1987\" height=\"1328\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/newdosti3.jpeg 1987w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/newdosti3-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/newdosti3-1536x1027.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1987px) 100vw, 1987px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dosti is a Bay Area-based social club for young Muslims. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Muhammad Anjum)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is also the everlasting appeal of off-kilter or ironic events — like\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/timothee-chalamet-lookalike-dune-7acc6bda7612cb72eca31d2cc0106028\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the Timothée Chalamet look-alike contest in 2024\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and their subsequent spin-offs, including \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12072527/in-the-mission-a-bad-bunny-look-alike-contest-becomes-a-celebration-of-identity\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">San Francisco’s pre-Super Bowl Bad Bunny look-alike showdown\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One Partiful Sultan came across was made by someone who claimed to never have eaten \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.smuckersuncrustables.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an Uncrustable\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and was inviting people to watch them “try an Uncrustable for the first time in the park.” By Sultan’s count, the event had around 400 RSVPs. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your gathering can even be “stupid stuff like that,” she laughed. “How low maintenance is this?” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On a personal note, I can attest that movie-themed events are crowd-pleasers, too. Last year, I hosted \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13975849/pope-crave-vatican-conclave-stans-memes-gen-z-chimney\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a Conclave-themed party\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in honor of the 2024 papal thriller starring Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And as the Academy Awards on March 15 grow closer, hosts of an Oscars party could have a lot of fun \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/oscars-ballot?srsltid=AfmBOooDShGc1gZdjMJHAs4pS7us0mQFE9v7pcj4ZnpFZ4jD1W21VZMA\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">printing and passing out ballots\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for people to predict winners and compete with each other.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12072581\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12072581\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260205-BadBunnyLookalikeContest-39-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260205-BadBunnyLookalikeContest-39-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260205-BadBunnyLookalikeContest-39-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260205-BadBunnyLookalikeContest-39-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bad Bunny look-alike competitors interact with the crowd during a contest at Tacolicious in San Francisco on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Childhood throwbacks are also always a winner. The Leave Your House Project’s first “adult field trip” was “indoor recess”: “a little throwback to elementary school days where you play four square and do double dutch,” Senigar said. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“Small, simple moments can create really meaningful community because that’s essentially what we did when we were kids,” she said. “We had to make do with what we had … ‘Okay, we don’t always have to spend $600 and go to Monterey. We can just do something local.’” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And what about dinner parties — those gatherings that are often considered the cornerstones of adulthood? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Given that they can be a stressful affair with all of the cooking and preparations they entail, going potluck style for your first party can be a more manageable way to host a dinner in your home, where people can chip in with food. Hosts shouldn’t have to “bear the financial burden” alone, Sultan said. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How should I think about food?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The days of college party catering — A.K.A. a bag of chips and beer — may be behind you. But that doesn’t mean that food for a party, even a dinner party, has to be a fancy five-course meal.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yasmine Davis, a San Francisco resident dubbed (by a friend) as \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@hangryb.tch/photo/7425854624814484778\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“the queen of SF dinner parties”\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on TikTok, said that she started hosting dinner parties before she ever \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">had\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> a dinner table.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The idea of hosting people for dinner can be stress-inducing for many people, said Davis, and it’s often motivated by feeling they don’t “have the right materials to do it.” But “I was just having people over, and we would sit down on the floor, and I would just put everything on my coffee table,” she said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Davis herself \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> a cook, and said that it “actually brings so much joy to me, my friends actually enjoying the food that I’m making.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12075624\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12075624\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260306-HOSTING-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260306-HOSTING-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260306-HOSTING-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260306-HOSTING-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A friend dubbed Yasmine Davis as “the queen of SF dinner parties,” on account of the colorful, themed meals David hosted in her apartment. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Yasmine Davis)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But she added that hosts shouldn’t have to over-purchase food for a dinner party or an event, because “when people are at a party, they’re being so social that they don’t eat as much as they would at a restaurant.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Davis said she often focuses on finger foods and crowd-pleasing staples like vodka pasta, crispy chicken cutlets and a big salad. She also enjoys seasonal-themed dinners and meals — like a winter-themed meal with cosy grilled cheese sandwiches and soup.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“It’s also cost-effective if you don’t want to spend an arm and a leg on this food for a party,” she said. “You could be so creative with the salad and make it look so beautiful with edible flowers and different pickled things in it.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As for drinks, hosts should always make sure to have other cold beverages on hand other than alcohol, she advised. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How should I prepare my home for hosting people?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sultan is an advocate of cleaning up the space before people start showing up, and notes that even a small act like wiping the table can make a big difference. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another major requirement for her is emptying the fridge, to stop days-old leftovers from taking up space from your party snacks. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12075656\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1980px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12075656\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-2212635567.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1320\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-2212635567.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-2212635567-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-2212635567-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A table with glasses, photos and a plate with pasta. \u003ccite>(Janina Steinmetz via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While Davis herself has found it fun to explore tablescaping — the art of arranging silverware and decor — she acknowledges that getting overly focused on the aesthetics of a dinner party can bring people a lot of stress: not to mention the cost that wrangling matching cups, plates and table covers can incur. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In these cases, Davis said it may help to focus on the food more. “I want to make sure people are enjoying the \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">food \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">at a party,” she said. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For my part, I am a stickler for good lighting — i.e., never subject your guests to the too-harsh overhead ceiling bulb. And a small thing I’ve noticed that always makes people smile: printing out a “menu” for a dinner party. We have fancy restaurants at home!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What should I \u003ci>do \u003c/i>during the party?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To many people’s surprise, the Leave Your House Project’s Senigar considers herself an introvert. But she said she steps up when it comes to hosting duties. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“Hosting is about the guest experience, not always about how impressive something looks,” she said. “You really have to be adaptable, you have to be flexible, and you have to be calm and welcoming and intentional because it sets the tone for the entire space.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12075657\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1980px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12075657\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-2220704403.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1320\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-2220704403.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-2220704403-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-2220704403-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Top-down shot of a festive dining table covered with holiday food, drinks, and decorations. \u003ccite>(Alina Rudya via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During an event, Senigar will drive herself to stay extra mindful, checking in on guests to see how they are feeling and talking to people who seem to be standing by themselves. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“It lets the attendees know that they’re welcome and they don’t have to navigate the space on their own,” she said. “Whether the event is perfect or not, they will remember that moment.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It can be “really anxiety-inducing for new people to come to events alone,” Sultan said — so “literally when they come in, just be like, ‘Hey, oh my gosh, I have someone I want to introduce you to.’” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“And introduce those people and have them start a conversation.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the host, you may have a picture-perfect idea of an event in your head. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But Davis said, “When you try to over-complicate it, it’ll just stress you out a lot” — especially at the beginning of your hosting journey. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12075658\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1980px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12075658\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-2212632049.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1320\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-2212632049.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-2212632049-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-2212632049-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">View of a group of friends enjoying the time together with laughter at brunch. \u003ccite>(Janina Steinmetz via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, “as you get more comfortable, you can experiment with other things,” she advised. “Keep it as simple as you want and just add different parts of yourself that you would want to shine.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of those shining things should be music. “It gets so awkward if you go to an event where they don’t have music playing, because then you can just hear everyone’s conversations,” Sultan said. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I, for one, love making a collaborative playlist on Spotify, which allows anyone attending to add songs during the party. (Although, beware — people may also try to annoy you with this generous function.)\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How can I make sure my friends \u003ci>actually \u003c/i>show up?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now here is the true host nightmare. People — maybe even lots of them — RSVP … but then they don’t show up. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And while yes, emergencies happen and sometimes people get too tired and just don’t want to leave their house, it can feel like a rather vulnerable moment for a host.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sultan’s advice here is to \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">over\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">-invite people, because there will always be last-minute cancellations.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When it comes to the number of invites she sends out, “my rule of thumb is ‘always 20% more,’” she said. “And it has never failed me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12075652\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1994px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12075652\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/newdost4.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1994\" height=\"1330\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/newdost4.jpeg 1994w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/newdost4-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/newdost4-1536x1025.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1994px) 100vw, 1994px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dosti hosts events like picnics, book swaps and holiday parties — all advertised with eye-catching colorful Instagram posts and Partiful pages. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Muhammad Anjum)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Asking invitees to bring a plus one is a good way to boost attendance with people who are vetted by friends, Sultan said. And when it comes to those “I’m just not feeling it tonight” folks, Senigar said she tries to “meet people where they’re at, especially for people who don’t go out as much.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“I’m really honest — but in a gentle and supportive way, kind of like in a big sister way,” she said. “I’ll literally say, ‘If you wanna make friends, you have to leave your house.’” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“And it’s not judgmental,” she stressed. “It gives people a clear next step, and it lets them move at their own pace.”[aside postID=news_12074021 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/250215-ChineseNewYear-04-BL-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Equally, invitees should feel safe to be honest about their capacity — like how long they can stay at a party and how many people they can talk to. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“Sometimes I suggest small goals like, ‘Okay, I’m gonna go to this event, I probably don’t know anybody, so I’m going to try to at least talk to one person or try to get at least one Instagram [connection],’ Senigar said. “And I think those little steps help people build confidence and just keep coming back.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A major way to help some people feel flexible enough to attend an event is something easier to attend, like scheduling a hangout right after work, which people can attend without needing to go home and change.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“One of the most important aspects is being clear about what the event actually \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,” Senigar said. “I try not to oversell anything to my attendees because I feel like when people know what to expect, it makes showing up feel easier.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“When people feel comfortable, connection happens naturally,” she said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>I actually had a great time hosting! What should I do next?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you get into the swing of hosting, Sultan said not to burn yourself out by over-exerting yourself in planning for the future.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People underestimate how much hosting can take out of you, she said. And while everyone may think they want to plan a big, glamorous event, “the most fun I’ve had at events, and the most meaningful friendships I’ve formed, have always been from the [simpler] events we’ve thrown.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12075654\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1987px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12075654\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/newdosti5.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1987\" height=\"1324\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/newdosti5.jpeg 1987w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/newdosti5-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/newdosti5-1536x1023.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1987px) 100vw, 1987px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dosti hosts events like picnics, book swaps and holiday parties — all advertised with eye-catching colorful Instagram posts and Partiful pages. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Muhammad Anjum)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Creating community through gatherings can be an incredibly rewarding experience for hosts like Senigar.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“A girl came up to me and said, ‘I’ve been looking forward to this for a month,’” she recalled. “Her grandfather has dementia, and she is his primary caretaker, and he’s going to pass soon … and she said that she does not have time to go out.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Senigar said she and others in the group teared up when listening to her story. “Life is hard,” she said. “I’m really trying to continue to tell myself you can’t do life alone.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“Community is important,” she said. “You need people to lean on.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Americans need to party more — and these Bay Area hosts are here to help with some tips for your next gathering. (May we suggest an Oscars party on Sunday?)",
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"title": "Was ‘Be More Social’ Your 2026 Goal? Expert Advice for Hosting at Your Home | KQED",
"description": "Americans need to party more — and these Bay Area hosts are here to help with some tips for your next gathering. (May we suggest an Oscars party on Sunday?)",
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"datePublished": "2026-03-09T04:00:00-07:00",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Last year, \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Atlantic \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">declared that \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2025/01/throw-more-parties-loneliness/681203/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“Americans Need to Party More.”\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The story touched several beats you may have become familiar with in the last few years of media headlines: Loneliness and isolation have become \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an epidemic.\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Americans have \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.americansurveycenter.org/research/the-state-of-american-friendship-change-challenges-and-loss/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fewer friends\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> than ever before. And if they \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">do \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">have friends? They barely have \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/09/loneliness-epidemic-friendship-shortage/679689/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">time to see them\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before you start feeling like you’re personally responsible for all this, it’s worth noting that — as \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.happiness.hks.harvard.edu/february-2025-issue/the-friendship-recession-the-lost-art-of-connecting\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Harvard’s Leadership & Happiness Laboratory\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> points out — a lot of the forces behind our increased isolation are structural.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These factors include work becoming “a dominant social identity,” economic pressures, suburban sprawl, a lack of “\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://esl.uchicago.edu/2023/11/01/third-places-what-are-they-and-why-are-they-important-to-american-culture/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">third places\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">” and, of course, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@ibdagoat/video/7328433619096079662?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that damn\u003c/span>\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uz7FRPabLPI\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">phone\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But Priya Parker, author of \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Art Of Gathering\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, has \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/transcripts/nx-s1-5667582\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">one concrete step to offer you personally\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: hosting people in your home more.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“Everybody’s longing for community,” \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/transcripts/nx-s1-5667582\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Parker told NPR’s Life Kit\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> earlier this year. “We long to be part of a village. We long to have people come over and help us.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“But when’s the last time you’ve hosted something?” she asked. “When’s the last time you have helped somebody move?”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In fact, according to the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2025/01/throw-more-parties-loneliness/681203/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bureau of Labor Statistic\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">s in 2024, only \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://data.bls.gov/pdq/SurveyOutputServlet\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">4% of Americans \u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">attended or hosted a social event on an average weekend or holiday. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“The best way to get a seat at the table is to host the table,” Parker said. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Someone has to do it’\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All this, I’ll say, has been on \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">my \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mind a while. And when I started to research the topic for this very story, the Instagram algorithm started showing me posts from Bay Area groups dedicated to bringing people together. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These included like the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/leaveyourhouseproject/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Leave Your House Project\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which promises “Adult Field Trips,” and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/dosti.sf/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dosti\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Urdu for “friend,”), a Bay Area-based social club for 20-something Muslims.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12075625\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1973px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12075625\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/hosting1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1973\" height=\"1480\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/hosting1.jpg 1973w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/hosting1-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/hosting1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1973px) 100vw, 1973px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Leave Your House Project promises “adult field trips” in the Bay Area. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Jordan Senigar)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“I’m definitely going to make sure everyone has friends,” said Imaan Sultan, Dosti’s founder. Her group’s events include picnics, book swaps and Halloween parties — all advertised with eye-catching pink-and-green Instagram posts and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://partiful.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Partiful\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> pages. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“I just hate waiting for things to happen, and I was like: ‘\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Someone\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has to do it,’” she said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sultan said she’s been struck by the sheer hunger for Dosti’s events. It took under an hour for her social media post announcing a Dosti \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12073604/2026-ramadan-mubarak-where-to-find-iftar-suhoor-san-francisco-bay-area\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Iftar dinner\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for Ramadan in Palo Alto to receive over 200 sign-ups — with a growing waitlist. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Luckily, Sultan has some experience hosting larger groups: During her college days, she hosted matcha cafes for 60 people in her small Berkeley apartment. However, now that she’s a year out of college, the need for organizing events for working young professionals strikes her as even more necessary.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sultan wasn’t finding the tech scene she was in super social. And she’d often hear others in her circle bemoaning the idea of their losing connections when friends got married or worse: \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2025/sf-worker-losses-ny/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">moved to New York\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This sense of disconnect was in stark contrast to her childhood growing up in the Middle East, when Sultan said she recalled constantly meeting new friends and being “always around people.” Here in the Bay Area, she’s observed “a little bit of a difference in social culture and tendency of people to do that, at least in the SF community.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jordan Senigar, the founder of the Leave Your House Project and East Bay resident, echoed this. “A lot of people want connection, but the Bay Area can honestly feel really overwhelming and expensive,” she said. “It’s really easy to feel like community isn’t accessible if you don’t fit a specific mold.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“Especially in SF,” Sultan said, “where people are so enamored with tech and digital experiences, I think people have forgotten that at the end of the day … we crave connection.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With all this in mind? I spoke to Sultan and other Bay Area hosts on how to throw an excellent party — from logistics like invites and food to vibes like music and themes to getting your friends to \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">actually\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> show up. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What \u003ci>kind \u003c/i>of event do I want to host?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The main goal of your first event is getting people to just show up, Sultan said. So make your gathering something easy for \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And the possibilities are endless. According to Anita Osuala, a spokesperson with Partiful — the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://partiful.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">popular online platform\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that allows people to create customizable private or public event pages — users have been getting creative with events that go beyond birthdays and house parties, according to trends she said she’s observed from “a mix of both product data and behavioral patterns we see across invites on the platform.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Osuala said Partiful is seeing the platform used for more “admin night” invites and chore parties where, as she put it, “people tackle life tasks together”: like paying the bills and scheduling dreaded dental appointments. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12075651\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1987px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12075651\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/newdosti3.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1987\" height=\"1328\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/newdosti3.jpeg 1987w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/newdosti3-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/newdosti3-1536x1027.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1987px) 100vw, 1987px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dosti is a Bay Area-based social club for young Muslims. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Muhammad Anjum)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is also the everlasting appeal of off-kilter or ironic events — like\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/timothee-chalamet-lookalike-dune-7acc6bda7612cb72eca31d2cc0106028\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the Timothée Chalamet look-alike contest in 2024\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and their subsequent spin-offs, including \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12072527/in-the-mission-a-bad-bunny-look-alike-contest-becomes-a-celebration-of-identity\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">San Francisco’s pre-Super Bowl Bad Bunny look-alike showdown\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One Partiful Sultan came across was made by someone who claimed to never have eaten \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.smuckersuncrustables.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an Uncrustable\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and was inviting people to watch them “try an Uncrustable for the first time in the park.” By Sultan’s count, the event had around 400 RSVPs. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your gathering can even be “stupid stuff like that,” she laughed. “How low maintenance is this?” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On a personal note, I can attest that movie-themed events are crowd-pleasers, too. Last year, I hosted \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13975849/pope-crave-vatican-conclave-stans-memes-gen-z-chimney\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a Conclave-themed party\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in honor of the 2024 papal thriller starring Ralph Fiennes and Stanley Tucci.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And as the Academy Awards on March 15 grow closer, hosts of an Oscars party could have a lot of fun \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/oscars-ballot?srsltid=AfmBOooDShGc1gZdjMJHAs4pS7us0mQFE9v7pcj4ZnpFZ4jD1W21VZMA\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">printing and passing out ballots\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for people to predict winners and compete with each other.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12072581\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12072581\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260205-BadBunnyLookalikeContest-39-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260205-BadBunnyLookalikeContest-39-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260205-BadBunnyLookalikeContest-39-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260205-BadBunnyLookalikeContest-39-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bad Bunny look-alike competitors interact with the crowd during a contest at Tacolicious in San Francisco on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Childhood throwbacks are also always a winner. The Leave Your House Project’s first “adult field trip” was “indoor recess”: “a little throwback to elementary school days where you play four square and do double dutch,” Senigar said. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“Small, simple moments can create really meaningful community because that’s essentially what we did when we were kids,” she said. “We had to make do with what we had … ‘Okay, we don’t always have to spend $600 and go to Monterey. We can just do something local.’” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And what about dinner parties — those gatherings that are often considered the cornerstones of adulthood? \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Given that they can be a stressful affair with all of the cooking and preparations they entail, going potluck style for your first party can be a more manageable way to host a dinner in your home, where people can chip in with food. Hosts shouldn’t have to “bear the financial burden” alone, Sultan said. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How should I think about food?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The days of college party catering — A.K.A. a bag of chips and beer — may be behind you. But that doesn’t mean that food for a party, even a dinner party, has to be a fancy five-course meal.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yasmine Davis, a San Francisco resident dubbed (by a friend) as \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@hangryb.tch/photo/7425854624814484778\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“the queen of SF dinner parties”\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on TikTok, said that she started hosting dinner parties before she ever \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">had\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> a dinner table.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The idea of hosting people for dinner can be stress-inducing for many people, said Davis, and it’s often motivated by feeling they don’t “have the right materials to do it.” But “I was just having people over, and we would sit down on the floor, and I would just put everything on my coffee table,” she said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Davis herself \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> a cook, and said that it “actually brings so much joy to me, my friends actually enjoying the food that I’m making.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12075624\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12075624\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260306-HOSTING-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260306-HOSTING-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260306-HOSTING-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/260306-HOSTING-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A friend dubbed Yasmine Davis as “the queen of SF dinner parties,” on account of the colorful, themed meals David hosted in her apartment. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Yasmine Davis)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But she added that hosts shouldn’t have to over-purchase food for a dinner party or an event, because “when people are at a party, they’re being so social that they don’t eat as much as they would at a restaurant.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Davis said she often focuses on finger foods and crowd-pleasing staples like vodka pasta, crispy chicken cutlets and a big salad. She also enjoys seasonal-themed dinners and meals — like a winter-themed meal with cosy grilled cheese sandwiches and soup.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“It’s also cost-effective if you don’t want to spend an arm and a leg on this food for a party,” she said. “You could be so creative with the salad and make it look so beautiful with edible flowers and different pickled things in it.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As for drinks, hosts should always make sure to have other cold beverages on hand other than alcohol, she advised. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How should I prepare my home for hosting people?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sultan is an advocate of cleaning up the space before people start showing up, and notes that even a small act like wiping the table can make a big difference. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another major requirement for her is emptying the fridge, to stop days-old leftovers from taking up space from your party snacks. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12075656\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1980px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12075656\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-2212635567.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1320\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-2212635567.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-2212635567-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-2212635567-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A table with glasses, photos and a plate with pasta. \u003ccite>(Janina Steinmetz via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While Davis herself has found it fun to explore tablescaping — the art of arranging silverware and decor — she acknowledges that getting overly focused on the aesthetics of a dinner party can bring people a lot of stress: not to mention the cost that wrangling matching cups, plates and table covers can incur. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In these cases, Davis said it may help to focus on the food more. “I want to make sure people are enjoying the \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">food \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">at a party,” she said. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For my part, I am a stickler for good lighting — i.e., never subject your guests to the too-harsh overhead ceiling bulb. And a small thing I’ve noticed that always makes people smile: printing out a “menu” for a dinner party. We have fancy restaurants at home!\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What should I \u003ci>do \u003c/i>during the party?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To many people’s surprise, the Leave Your House Project’s Senigar considers herself an introvert. But she said she steps up when it comes to hosting duties. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“Hosting is about the guest experience, not always about how impressive something looks,” she said. “You really have to be adaptable, you have to be flexible, and you have to be calm and welcoming and intentional because it sets the tone for the entire space.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12075657\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1980px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12075657\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-2220704403.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1320\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-2220704403.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-2220704403-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-2220704403-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Top-down shot of a festive dining table covered with holiday food, drinks, and decorations. \u003ccite>(Alina Rudya via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During an event, Senigar will drive herself to stay extra mindful, checking in on guests to see how they are feeling and talking to people who seem to be standing by themselves. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“It lets the attendees know that they’re welcome and they don’t have to navigate the space on their own,” she said. “Whether the event is perfect or not, they will remember that moment.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It can be “really anxiety-inducing for new people to come to events alone,” Sultan said — so “literally when they come in, just be like, ‘Hey, oh my gosh, I have someone I want to introduce you to.’” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“And introduce those people and have them start a conversation.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the host, you may have a picture-perfect idea of an event in your head. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But Davis said, “When you try to over-complicate it, it’ll just stress you out a lot” — especially at the beginning of your hosting journey. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12075658\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1980px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12075658\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-2212632049.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1320\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-2212632049.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-2212632049-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/GettyImages-2212632049-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">View of a group of friends enjoying the time together with laughter at brunch. \u003ccite>(Janina Steinmetz via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, “as you get more comfortable, you can experiment with other things,” she advised. “Keep it as simple as you want and just add different parts of yourself that you would want to shine.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of those shining things should be music. “It gets so awkward if you go to an event where they don’t have music playing, because then you can just hear everyone’s conversations,” Sultan said. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I, for one, love making a collaborative playlist on Spotify, which allows anyone attending to add songs during the party. (Although, beware — people may also try to annoy you with this generous function.)\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How can I make sure my friends \u003ci>actually \u003c/i>show up?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now here is the true host nightmare. People — maybe even lots of them — RSVP … but then they don’t show up. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And while yes, emergencies happen and sometimes people get too tired and just don’t want to leave their house, it can feel like a rather vulnerable moment for a host.\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sultan’s advice here is to \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">over\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">-invite people, because there will always be last-minute cancellations.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When it comes to the number of invites she sends out, “my rule of thumb is ‘always 20% more,’” she said. “And it has never failed me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12075652\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1994px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12075652\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/newdost4.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1994\" height=\"1330\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/newdost4.jpeg 1994w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/newdost4-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/newdost4-1536x1025.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1994px) 100vw, 1994px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dosti hosts events like picnics, book swaps and holiday parties — all advertised with eye-catching colorful Instagram posts and Partiful pages. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Muhammad Anjum)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Asking invitees to bring a plus one is a good way to boost attendance with people who are vetted by friends, Sultan said. And when it comes to those “I’m just not feeling it tonight” folks, Senigar said she tries to “meet people where they’re at, especially for people who don’t go out as much.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“I’m really honest — but in a gentle and supportive way, kind of like in a big sister way,” she said. “I’ll literally say, ‘If you wanna make friends, you have to leave your house.’” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“And it’s not judgmental,” she stressed. “It gives people a clear next step, and it lets them move at their own pace.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Equally, invitees should feel safe to be honest about their capacity — like how long they can stay at a party and how many people they can talk to. \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“Sometimes I suggest small goals like, ‘Okay, I’m gonna go to this event, I probably don’t know anybody, so I’m going to try to at least talk to one person or try to get at least one Instagram [connection],’ Senigar said. “And I think those little steps help people build confidence and just keep coming back.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A major way to help some people feel flexible enough to attend an event is something easier to attend, like scheduling a hangout right after work, which people can attend without needing to go home and change.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“One of the most important aspects is being clear about what the event actually \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,” Senigar said. “I try not to oversell anything to my attendees because I feel like when people know what to expect, it makes showing up feel easier.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“When people feel comfortable, connection happens naturally,” she said.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>I actually had a great time hosting! What should I do next?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you get into the swing of hosting, Sultan said not to burn yourself out by over-exerting yourself in planning for the future.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People underestimate how much hosting can take out of you, she said. And while everyone may think they want to plan a big, glamorous event, “the most fun I’ve had at events, and the most meaningful friendships I’ve formed, have always been from the [simpler] events we’ve thrown.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12075654\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1987px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12075654\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/newdosti5.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1987\" height=\"1324\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/newdosti5.jpeg 1987w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/newdosti5-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/newdosti5-1536x1023.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1987px) 100vw, 1987px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dosti hosts events like picnics, book swaps and holiday parties — all advertised with eye-catching colorful Instagram posts and Partiful pages. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Muhammad Anjum)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Creating community through gatherings can be an incredibly rewarding experience for hosts like Senigar.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“A girl came up to me and said, ‘I’ve been looking forward to this for a month,’” she recalled. “Her grandfather has dementia, and she is his primary caretaker, and he’s going to pass soon … and she said that she does not have time to go out.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Senigar said she and others in the group teared up when listening to her story. “Life is hard,” she said. “I’m really trying to continue to tell myself you can’t do life alone.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">“Community is important,” she said. “You need people to lean on.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "how-an-aging-california-is-turning-to-senior-centers-for-romance-community-and-health",
"title": "How an Aging California Is Turning to Senior Centers for Romance, Community and Health",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[dropcap]A[/dropcap]lmeter Carroll sits alone on a couch inside the Watts Senior Citizen Community Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s almost noon, but the place is nearly empty. Fitness mats and other workout gear lay stacked in a distant corner. No one shows up for a morning gym class except her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She points across the room to a wall covered with photos of smiling, well-dressed Black men and women gathered at events throughout the years. “They’re all gone. Everyone on that wall. Passed away.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s the same in her personal life. Widowed once, Almeter lost a second partner years later to COVID. For the most part, she likes being independent and taking care of herself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Of course, I get lonely,” she says. “I miss my husband. I miss my boyfriend.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074089\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074089\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-1-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"823\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-1-KQED.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-1-KQED-2000x658.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-1-KQED-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-1-KQED-1536x506.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-1-KQED-2048x674.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: A memorial wall honoring past members at the Watts Senior Center in Los Angeles. Right: Almeter Carroll, 87, sits at the Watts Senior Center in Los Angeles. “I like coming here, I like getting together with the group and playing cards,” said Ms. Carroll. “People come for fellowship. To talk.” She added, “The pandemic did a lot to this place and to my church.” \u003ccite>(Isadora Kosofsky for CatchLight/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>She speaks of these things matter-of-factly, but still holds a positive outlook and carries a knowing smile.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Quiet as it may be at the moment, the Watts Center will begin to buzz with activity come lunchtime. Almeter will be surrounded by friends soon enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074063\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074063\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/221326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-04.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/221326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-04.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/221326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-04-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/221326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-04-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shane Shabad, 90, sits at Palisades Park in Santa Monica. Shane has lived alone for over a decade and struggles with vision loss associated with macular degeneration. He became increasingly socially isolated during the pandemic. \u003ccite>(Isadora Kosofsky for CalMatters/CatchLight)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/seniors\">Older adults\u003c/a> represent a significantly expanding portion of California’s population. By 2030, individuals over age 65 will begin to outnumber those under 18. But living longer also means people will see more loss, experience more grief and face more isolation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/mental-health/2026/02/look-inside-los-angeles-senior-centers/\">Neighborhood senior centers\u003c/a> may offer a good solution. They localize important resources and provide a safe, accessible space where older adults can go to find community and friendship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re absolutely essential and critical and part of the backbone of older adult services in our state,” said California Department of Aging Director Susan DeMarois. “They’re integral to our communities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074090\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2021px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12074090 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-2-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2021\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-2-KQED.jpg 2021w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-2-KQED-2000x1484.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-2-KQED-160x119.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-2-KQED-1536x1140.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2021px) 100vw, 2021px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: Beverlee Kelly, 70, spends time at Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area in Los Angeles. Ms. Kelly used to be active at a senior center near her home before the pandemic. She has not returned since the shutdown in 2020 due to health concerns, as she is unvaccinated. Right: Shane Shabad, 90, stands in his apartment in Santa Monica. \u003ccite>(Isadora Kosofsky for CalMatters/CatchLight)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Under Gov. Gavin Newsom, the aging department drew up a 10-year master plan that lays out five “bold” goals essential for sustaining longevity — housing, health care, inclusion, caregiving and affordability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Senior centers can address the inclusion component, although how exactly remains unclear.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/mental-health/2026/02/senior-centers-what-we-learned/\">No two senior centers are alike\u003c/a>. Local demographics and economic factors shape each center’s unique dynamics. With hardly any state oversight, most are largely left to themselves to figure out their own best practices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, no one can even say how many are operating in the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074094\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12074094 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-3-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"823\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-3-KQED.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-3-KQED-2000x658.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-3-KQED-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-3-KQED-1536x506.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-3-KQED-2048x674.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: Lewis Brown, 80, Director, sits in his office at the Tehachapi Senior Center. Right: Tony Kotch, 86, sits at a table for lunch at the Tehachapi Senior Center. The Tehachapi Senior Center is volunteer-run, and the older adults cover costs through donations. Older adults residing in rural areas are at an increased risk of social isolation. \u003ccite>(Isadora Kosofsky for CalMatters/CatchLight)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Former Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy sounded an alarm in naming loneliness and social isolation a national epidemic in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf\">2023 report\u003c/a> — equating the long-term health effects with smoking 15 cigarettes a day. One in five older Californians like Almeter live alone, making it even more difficult for them to maintain social connections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Going to the senior center may benefit a person’s mental and physical health, according to a 2025 study by researchers from California State University, Northridge, and Kaiser Permanente. They distributed surveys at 23 Los Angeles-area senior centers to gauge how attendance affected the well-being of participants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People who attended frequently — several times a week — or over long periods of time had better mental health and felt less lonely. Frequent senior center attendance was associated with a greater reduction in loneliness among users under age 75, while the positive relationship between senior center attendance and physical health was more evident among users over age 75. Based on those findings, the authors encouraged local officials and doctors “to promote” senior centers as a healthy resource.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074062\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074062\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/3LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-09.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/3LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-09.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/3LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-09-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/3LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-09-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Residents of an affordable senior housing complex in Santa Monica stand in a hallway in 2020. \u003ccite>(Isadora Kosofsky for CalMatters/CatchLight)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Hit hard by the social distancing impacts of COVID, community-based centers faced significant challenges when things began to return to normal. Older adults stayed away for some time out of caution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But some returned to centers with a renewed focus on health and well-being. Rather than look for traditional recreation like bingo, post-COVID older adults wanted to see fitness classes and longevity training.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As the population changes, as the opportunities change, as the needs change — senior centers evolve with that,” said Dianne Stone of the National Council on Aging. “At the core of it, senior centers are highly social places. It’s all about creating opportunities for social engagement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That might be just sitting around having a cup of coffee. It might be taking a class and finding people that are interested in the same things you’re interested in. But all of it is an opportunity to come in and meet people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Karaoke, tai chi and romance\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Less than 20 miles from Watts, the Culver City Senior Center surges with energy and enthusiasm. Sunlight filters through large glass windows onto tables bustling with Mah Jong and other games. For $20 a year, participants get daily access to rooms filled with exercise classes, arts and crafts workshops and movie screenings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Members gather early to hit the gym as soon as doors open at 9 a.m. Billiards players bring their own cues to shoot pool. Twice a week, packed-house karaoke sessions involve not just free-spirited singing, but also plenty of dancing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074091\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2019px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12074091 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-4-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2019\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-4-KQED.jpg 2019w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-4-KQED-2000x1486.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-4-KQED-160x119.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-4-KQED-1536x1141.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2019px) 100vw, 2019px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Members dance during weekly karaoke at the Culver City Senior Center. Some older adults attend the center with their caregivers, who are also members. \u003ccite>(Isadora Kosofsky for CalMatters/CatchLight)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On a sunny, gorgeous day in mid-November, the karaoke team brought microphones and speakers out into the fresh air of Culver’s spacious central courtyard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Selvee Provost bounced around and chatted knowingly with almost every person sitting under the verandas and shade umbrellas. As people took turns singing, she danced intermittently with different friends. Her simple social activity appeared to come naturally, but it was in the aftermath of loss and loneliness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074059\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074059\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/1-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-12.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/1-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-12.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/1-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-12-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/1-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-12-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Toni DiModica, 84, and Jim Diego, 82, dance during karaoke, as Verna Akwa, 77, sings, and Lee Karol, 69, and Stan Kamens, 78, manage the program at the Culver City Senior Center. \u003ccite>(Isadora Kosofsky for CalMatters/CatchLight)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Selvee first came to the Culver Center with her husband, Jim, in 2018. When COVID hit, things shut down. Then Jim died, and Selvee felt utterly alone. She could feel herself spiraling down in isolation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I knew if I sit at home and keep thinking about Jim, I’m gonna get more and more depressed,” she said. “That’s what motivated me to come here and try a class or something — just try anything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074092\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2019px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074092\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-5-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2019\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-5-KQED.jpg 2019w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-5-KQED-2000x1486.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-5-KQED-160x119.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-5-KQED-1536x1141.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2019px) 100vw, 2019px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: Cristina Guevara, 78, embraces Julia Sedana, 82, at the Lincoln Heights Senior Center. Right: Selvee Provost, 67, bows during a Tai-Chi class at the Culver City Senior Center. \u003ccite>(Isadora Kosofsky for CalMatters/CatchLight)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Tai chi became her pathway to community. “I didn’t know anybody, really. But by going to this class, I met people and learned they have a group about dealing with grief.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s where she met Daniel Kerson. He’d lost his wife at almost the same time as Selvee lost Jim. “Both of us really needed to find companionship to survive,” she said. They moved in together right away and now come to the center throughout the week for classes, events and to socialize.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074060\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074060\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-15.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-15.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-15-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-15-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Steve Gelb, 78, brushes his hair while seated in the courtyard at the Culver City Senior Center. \u003ccite>(Isadora Kosofsky for CatchLight/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Louis Cangemi, a newcomer over the last few months, mingled with Selvee and made his own rounds amongst the outdoor karaoke singers and dancers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I heard about this place and came to meet more people,” said the energetic 80-year-old. “I’m still a bachelor, so I hope to hit it off here with more women.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he might encounter a bit of competition. Other men like Jim Diego, 82, have been dancing and courting at Culver for years ahead of Cangemi.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Find a public senior center in Los Angeles\" aria-label=\"Locator map\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-cMgPL\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/cMgPL/4/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" height=\"695\" data-external=\"1\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Coffee, tea and art — “Cafe, te y arte” — are the kind of social opportunities that begin each weekday at the Lincoln Heights Senior Citizen Center, all gratis for the mostly Spanish-speaking older adults who make themselves at home here. In one large community room, they share galletas and pasteles along with the free coffee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As mid-morning hits, fitness classes like chair yoga and Latin dance entice a dozen or so participants — predominantly women — to move, smile and laugh together beside the room’s raised performance stage. The men mostly sit and watch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Twice a week, la lotería keeps the tables full for a couple of hours. Holiday dances draw crowds of over a hundred and feature DJs and live musicians.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074064\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074064\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-16.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-16.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-16-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-16-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chris Garcia, 78, dances with Eva De La Torre, 75, alongside other members of the Lincoln Heights Senior Center during a Halloween party in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood in Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Isadora Kosofsky for CalMatters/CatchLight)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s such a lovely community,” said the Lincoln Heights director and one-man staff, Anthony Montiel. “I’m really fortunate to be part of this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As director, he maintains the schedule of classes and fills in wherever necessary. People are asked to contribute a few dollars per class, if they can afford it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his backroom office, he logs in and accounts for handfuls of dog-eared $1 bills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A lone ping pong player looks for the director in the afternoons. If he’s not too busy with his other duties, he’ll take a break for a quick match. “We have practically a brand new table,” said Montiel. “It’s nice equipment, but the guy usually has no one to play with but me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Shared meals, shared space, shared community\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Putting a finger on the pulse of how senior centers maintain relevance, adapt and thrive is no easy task. Each center relies on a mix of different funding and resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Besides the classes and activities, subsidized lunch programs at all these centers play a crucial role in helping older adults stay healthy. The nutritionally balanced meals provide free or low-cost sustenance, but offering the food in a shared, congregate space might be equally just as vital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074065\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074065\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-17.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-17.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-17-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-17-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Members gather at different tables in the afternoon at the Lincoln Heights Senior Center in Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Isadora Kosofsky for CalMatters/CatchLight)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“When people are able to go to a setting like a senior center to enjoy a meal in the company of others, possibly to have music and entertainment and activities, that can be really good for people’s mental health,” said DeMarois of the Department of Aging. “That’s a big part of it — just trying to foster that connection and engagement on the preventive side.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Congregate setting meal programs accounted for over 2.3 million older adult meals in the City of Los Angeles and in L.A. County in 2024, according to California Department of Aging records. But this data is not specific to senior centers, as it also includes meals in senior care facilities and other older adult group spaces.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When it comes to senior centers, there is not good data,” said Stone. “There is not that central database of senior centers or community-based organizations, and there’s not even a shared definition of what they are.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074093\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12074093 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-6-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"823\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-6-KQED.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-6-KQED-2000x658.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-6-KQED-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-6-KQED-1536x506.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-6-KQED-2048x674.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: Maudell Robinson, 95, at the Watts Senior Center in Los Angeles. Right: A member of the Watts Senior Center prepares to depart for the day in Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Isadora Kosofsky for CalMatters/CatchLight)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Senior centers are community responses to community aging. No two are the same because no two communities are the same.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Speaking anecdotally from her own experience, Stone sees the bulk of most senior center populations as being between 75 and 85 years old. But that age range is evolving as older adult communities expand.[aside postID=news_12050210 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/07/la-seniors-688a20454f1fc.jpg']DeMarois sees the same dynamics taking shape. “When we talk about people 60-plus, we’re experiencing the greatest longevity ever right now,” she said. “The fastest growing demographic in California is 85-plus. We’re talking about four decades of life for many people from 60 to 100, so their needs and preferences will change over time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in Watts, Almeter’s not much interested in a free meal. “I eat my own food.” She sits around as other older adults filter into the center one by one. Many grab their subsidized lunch in styrofoam containers and soon walk right back out the door.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She waits patiently for her friends to arrive — women like Luretha Muckelroy, Maudell Robinson and Watts advisory board member Linda Cleveland. They gather here two or three times each week to play Spades or Bid Whist, card games that evoke plenty of smack talking and mirth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need more men around here,” said Linda, as she noted the all-female crowd. Older adult males show up for some functions and events, but women seem to comprise most of the Watts Center attendance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074066\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074066\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-20.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-20.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-20-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-20-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sharron Robinson, 80, Laura Shroder, 89, and Johnnie Devereaux, 86, hold hands and dance as other members sing karaoke at the Culver City Senior Center. \u003ccite>(Isadora Kosofsky for CatchLight/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For a few hours, the close-knit group makes the place come alive. Four players compete in two-person teams, while others keep tally. The losing team must vacate their seats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They laugh, point fingers and chastise one another — all in good fun. The games can sometimes get heated. In between hands and shuffles, they share snacks and pour sodas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked how she feels about aging alone, Almeter answers without hesitation. “Oh, I love being 87. It’s great to be alive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Joe Garcia is a California Local News fellow. \u003c/em>\u003cem>This story was produced jointly by CalMatters and CatchLight as part of our \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.catchlight.io/mental-health\">\u003cem>mental health initiative\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/mental-health/2026/02/senior-centers-aging-health/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "No two senior centers are alike. We visited three very different venues in L.A. to learn how they’re changing for California’s aging population.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">A\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>lmeter Carroll sits alone on a couch inside the Watts Senior Citizen Community Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s almost noon, but the place is nearly empty. Fitness mats and other workout gear lay stacked in a distant corner. No one shows up for a morning gym class except her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She points across the room to a wall covered with photos of smiling, well-dressed Black men and women gathered at events throughout the years. “They’re all gone. Everyone on that wall. Passed away.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s the same in her personal life. Widowed once, Almeter lost a second partner years later to COVID. For the most part, she likes being independent and taking care of herself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Of course, I get lonely,” she says. “I miss my husband. I miss my boyfriend.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074089\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074089\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-1-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"823\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-1-KQED.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-1-KQED-2000x658.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-1-KQED-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-1-KQED-1536x506.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-1-KQED-2048x674.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: A memorial wall honoring past members at the Watts Senior Center in Los Angeles. Right: Almeter Carroll, 87, sits at the Watts Senior Center in Los Angeles. “I like coming here, I like getting together with the group and playing cards,” said Ms. Carroll. “People come for fellowship. To talk.” She added, “The pandemic did a lot to this place and to my church.” \u003ccite>(Isadora Kosofsky for CatchLight/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>She speaks of these things matter-of-factly, but still holds a positive outlook and carries a knowing smile.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Quiet as it may be at the moment, the Watts Center will begin to buzz with activity come lunchtime. Almeter will be surrounded by friends soon enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074063\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074063\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/221326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-04.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/221326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-04.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/221326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-04-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/221326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-04-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shane Shabad, 90, sits at Palisades Park in Santa Monica. Shane has lived alone for over a decade and struggles with vision loss associated with macular degeneration. He became increasingly socially isolated during the pandemic. \u003ccite>(Isadora Kosofsky for CalMatters/CatchLight)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/seniors\">Older adults\u003c/a> represent a significantly expanding portion of California’s population. By 2030, individuals over age 65 will begin to outnumber those under 18. But living longer also means people will see more loss, experience more grief and face more isolation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/mental-health/2026/02/look-inside-los-angeles-senior-centers/\">Neighborhood senior centers\u003c/a> may offer a good solution. They localize important resources and provide a safe, accessible space where older adults can go to find community and friendship.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re absolutely essential and critical and part of the backbone of older adult services in our state,” said California Department of Aging Director Susan DeMarois. “They’re integral to our communities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074090\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2021px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12074090 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-2-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2021\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-2-KQED.jpg 2021w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-2-KQED-2000x1484.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-2-KQED-160x119.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-2-KQED-1536x1140.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2021px) 100vw, 2021px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: Beverlee Kelly, 70, spends time at Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area in Los Angeles. Ms. Kelly used to be active at a senior center near her home before the pandemic. She has not returned since the shutdown in 2020 due to health concerns, as she is unvaccinated. Right: Shane Shabad, 90, stands in his apartment in Santa Monica. \u003ccite>(Isadora Kosofsky for CalMatters/CatchLight)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Under Gov. Gavin Newsom, the aging department drew up a 10-year master plan that lays out five “bold” goals essential for sustaining longevity — housing, health care, inclusion, caregiving and affordability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Senior centers can address the inclusion component, although how exactly remains unclear.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/mental-health/2026/02/senior-centers-what-we-learned/\">No two senior centers are alike\u003c/a>. Local demographics and economic factors shape each center’s unique dynamics. With hardly any state oversight, most are largely left to themselves to figure out their own best practices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, no one can even say how many are operating in the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074094\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12074094 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-3-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"823\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-3-KQED.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-3-KQED-2000x658.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-3-KQED-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-3-KQED-1536x506.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-3-KQED-2048x674.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: Lewis Brown, 80, Director, sits in his office at the Tehachapi Senior Center. Right: Tony Kotch, 86, sits at a table for lunch at the Tehachapi Senior Center. The Tehachapi Senior Center is volunteer-run, and the older adults cover costs through donations. Older adults residing in rural areas are at an increased risk of social isolation. \u003ccite>(Isadora Kosofsky for CalMatters/CatchLight)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Former Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy sounded an alarm in naming loneliness and social isolation a national epidemic in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf\">2023 report\u003c/a> — equating the long-term health effects with smoking 15 cigarettes a day. One in five older Californians like Almeter live alone, making it even more difficult for them to maintain social connections.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Going to the senior center may benefit a person’s mental and physical health, according to a 2025 study by researchers from California State University, Northridge, and Kaiser Permanente. They distributed surveys at 23 Los Angeles-area senior centers to gauge how attendance affected the well-being of participants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People who attended frequently — several times a week — or over long periods of time had better mental health and felt less lonely. Frequent senior center attendance was associated with a greater reduction in loneliness among users under age 75, while the positive relationship between senior center attendance and physical health was more evident among users over age 75. Based on those findings, the authors encouraged local officials and doctors “to promote” senior centers as a healthy resource.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074062\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074062\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/3LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-09.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/3LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-09.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/3LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-09-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/3LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-09-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Residents of an affordable senior housing complex in Santa Monica stand in a hallway in 2020. \u003ccite>(Isadora Kosofsky for CalMatters/CatchLight)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Hit hard by the social distancing impacts of COVID, community-based centers faced significant challenges when things began to return to normal. Older adults stayed away for some time out of caution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But some returned to centers with a renewed focus on health and well-being. Rather than look for traditional recreation like bingo, post-COVID older adults wanted to see fitness classes and longevity training.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As the population changes, as the opportunities change, as the needs change — senior centers evolve with that,” said Dianne Stone of the National Council on Aging. “At the core of it, senior centers are highly social places. It’s all about creating opportunities for social engagement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That might be just sitting around having a cup of coffee. It might be taking a class and finding people that are interested in the same things you’re interested in. But all of it is an opportunity to come in and meet people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Karaoke, tai chi and romance\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Less than 20 miles from Watts, the Culver City Senior Center surges with energy and enthusiasm. Sunlight filters through large glass windows onto tables bustling with Mah Jong and other games. For $20 a year, participants get daily access to rooms filled with exercise classes, arts and crafts workshops and movie screenings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Members gather early to hit the gym as soon as doors open at 9 a.m. Billiards players bring their own cues to shoot pool. Twice a week, packed-house karaoke sessions involve not just free-spirited singing, but also plenty of dancing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074091\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2019px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12074091 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-4-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2019\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-4-KQED.jpg 2019w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-4-KQED-2000x1486.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-4-KQED-160x119.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-4-KQED-1536x1141.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2019px) 100vw, 2019px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Members dance during weekly karaoke at the Culver City Senior Center. Some older adults attend the center with their caregivers, who are also members. \u003ccite>(Isadora Kosofsky for CalMatters/CatchLight)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>On a sunny, gorgeous day in mid-November, the karaoke team brought microphones and speakers out into the fresh air of Culver’s spacious central courtyard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Selvee Provost bounced around and chatted knowingly with almost every person sitting under the verandas and shade umbrellas. As people took turns singing, she danced intermittently with different friends. Her simple social activity appeared to come naturally, but it was in the aftermath of loss and loneliness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074059\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074059\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/1-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-12.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/1-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-12.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/1-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-12-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/1-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-12-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Toni DiModica, 84, and Jim Diego, 82, dance during karaoke, as Verna Akwa, 77, sings, and Lee Karol, 69, and Stan Kamens, 78, manage the program at the Culver City Senior Center. \u003ccite>(Isadora Kosofsky for CalMatters/CatchLight)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Selvee first came to the Culver Center with her husband, Jim, in 2018. When COVID hit, things shut down. Then Jim died, and Selvee felt utterly alone. She could feel herself spiraling down in isolation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I knew if I sit at home and keep thinking about Jim, I’m gonna get more and more depressed,” she said. “That’s what motivated me to come here and try a class or something — just try anything.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074092\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2019px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074092\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-5-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2019\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-5-KQED.jpg 2019w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-5-KQED-2000x1486.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-5-KQED-160x119.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-5-KQED-1536x1141.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2019px) 100vw, 2019px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: Cristina Guevara, 78, embraces Julia Sedana, 82, at the Lincoln Heights Senior Center. Right: Selvee Provost, 67, bows during a Tai-Chi class at the Culver City Senior Center. \u003ccite>(Isadora Kosofsky for CalMatters/CatchLight)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Tai chi became her pathway to community. “I didn’t know anybody, really. But by going to this class, I met people and learned they have a group about dealing with grief.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s where she met Daniel Kerson. He’d lost his wife at almost the same time as Selvee lost Jim. “Both of us really needed to find companionship to survive,” she said. They moved in together right away and now come to the center throughout the week for classes, events and to socialize.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074060\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074060\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-15.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-15.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-15-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-15-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Steve Gelb, 78, brushes his hair while seated in the courtyard at the Culver City Senior Center. \u003ccite>(Isadora Kosofsky for CatchLight/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Louis Cangemi, a newcomer over the last few months, mingled with Selvee and made his own rounds amongst the outdoor karaoke singers and dancers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I heard about this place and came to meet more people,” said the energetic 80-year-old. “I’m still a bachelor, so I hope to hit it off here with more women.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he might encounter a bit of competition. Other men like Jim Diego, 82, have been dancing and courting at Culver for years ahead of Cangemi.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Find a public senior center in Los Angeles\" aria-label=\"Locator map\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-cMgPL\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/cMgPL/4/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" height=\"695\" data-external=\"1\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Coffee, tea and art — “Cafe, te y arte” — are the kind of social opportunities that begin each weekday at the Lincoln Heights Senior Citizen Center, all gratis for the mostly Spanish-speaking older adults who make themselves at home here. In one large community room, they share galletas and pasteles along with the free coffee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As mid-morning hits, fitness classes like chair yoga and Latin dance entice a dozen or so participants — predominantly women — to move, smile and laugh together beside the room’s raised performance stage. The men mostly sit and watch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Twice a week, la lotería keeps the tables full for a couple of hours. Holiday dances draw crowds of over a hundred and feature DJs and live musicians.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074064\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074064\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-16.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-16.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-16-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-16-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chris Garcia, 78, dances with Eva De La Torre, 75, alongside other members of the Lincoln Heights Senior Center during a Halloween party in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood in Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Isadora Kosofsky for CalMatters/CatchLight)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“It’s such a lovely community,” said the Lincoln Heights director and one-man staff, Anthony Montiel. “I’m really fortunate to be part of this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As director, he maintains the schedule of classes and fills in wherever necessary. People are asked to contribute a few dollars per class, if they can afford it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In his backroom office, he logs in and accounts for handfuls of dog-eared $1 bills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A lone ping pong player looks for the director in the afternoons. If he’s not too busy with his other duties, he’ll take a break for a quick match. “We have practically a brand new table,” said Montiel. “It’s nice equipment, but the guy usually has no one to play with but me.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Shared meals, shared space, shared community\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Putting a finger on the pulse of how senior centers maintain relevance, adapt and thrive is no easy task. Each center relies on a mix of different funding and resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Besides the classes and activities, subsidized lunch programs at all these centers play a crucial role in helping older adults stay healthy. The nutritionally balanced meals provide free or low-cost sustenance, but offering the food in a shared, congregate space might be equally just as vital.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074065\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074065\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-17.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-17.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-17-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-17-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Members gather at different tables in the afternoon at the Lincoln Heights Senior Center in Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Isadora Kosofsky for CalMatters/CatchLight)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“When people are able to go to a setting like a senior center to enjoy a meal in the company of others, possibly to have music and entertainment and activities, that can be really good for people’s mental health,” said DeMarois of the Department of Aging. “That’s a big part of it — just trying to foster that connection and engagement on the preventive side.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Congregate setting meal programs accounted for over 2.3 million older adult meals in the City of Los Angeles and in L.A. County in 2024, according to California Department of Aging records. But this data is not specific to senior centers, as it also includes meals in senior care facilities and other older adult group spaces.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When it comes to senior centers, there is not good data,” said Stone. “There is not that central database of senior centers or community-based organizations, and there’s not even a shared definition of what they are.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074093\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12074093 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-6-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2500\" height=\"823\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-6-KQED.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-6-KQED-2000x658.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-6-KQED-160x53.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-6-KQED-1536x506.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-01-DIP-6-KQED-2048x674.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Left: Maudell Robinson, 95, at the Watts Senior Center in Los Angeles. Right: A member of the Watts Senior Center prepares to depart for the day in Los Angeles. \u003ccite>(Isadora Kosofsky for CalMatters/CatchLight)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Senior centers are community responses to community aging. No two are the same because no two communities are the same.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Speaking anecdotally from her own experience, Stone sees the bulk of most senior center populations as being between 75 and 85 years old. But that age range is evolving as older adult communities expand.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>DeMarois sees the same dynamics taking shape. “When we talk about people 60-plus, we’re experiencing the greatest longevity ever right now,” she said. “The fastest growing demographic in California is 85-plus. We’re talking about four decades of life for many people from 60 to 100, so their needs and preferences will change over time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in Watts, Almeter’s not much interested in a free meal. “I eat my own food.” She sits around as other older adults filter into the center one by one. Many grab their subsidized lunch in styrofoam containers and soon walk right back out the door.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She waits patiently for her friends to arrive — women like Luretha Muckelroy, Maudell Robinson and Watts advisory board member Linda Cleveland. They gather here two or three times each week to play Spades or Bid Whist, card games that evoke plenty of smack talking and mirth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need more men around here,” said Linda, as she noted the all-female crowd. Older adult males show up for some functions and events, but women seem to comprise most of the Watts Center attendance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12074066\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12074066\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-20.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-20.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-20-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/NOT4FILE-021326-LA-Senior-Center-IK-CM-20-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sharron Robinson, 80, Laura Shroder, 89, and Johnnie Devereaux, 86, hold hands and dance as other members sing karaoke at the Culver City Senior Center. \u003ccite>(Isadora Kosofsky for CatchLight/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>For a few hours, the close-knit group makes the place come alive. Four players compete in two-person teams, while others keep tally. The losing team must vacate their seats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They laugh, point fingers and chastise one another — all in good fun. The games can sometimes get heated. In between hands and shuffles, they share snacks and pour sodas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked how she feels about aging alone, Almeter answers without hesitation. “Oh, I love being 87. It’s great to be alive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Joe Garcia is a California Local News fellow. \u003c/em>\u003cem>This story was produced jointly by CalMatters and CatchLight as part of our \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.catchlight.io/mental-health\">\u003cem>mental health initiative\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/health/mental-health/2026/02/senior-centers-aging-health/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Nvidia has announced a suite of open-source AI weather forecasting systems, joining other \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/category/technology\">Big Tech players\u003c/a> hoping to establish themselves in the space as federal funding evaporates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California farmers, insurers and meteorologists alike stand to gain from adding \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/ai\">AI\u003c/a> to their weather-forecasting toolboxes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the American Meteorological Society’s\u003ca href=\"https://www.ametsoc.org/ams/meetings-events/upcoming-meetings/annual-meeting/\"> annual meeting\u003c/a> in Houston, Nvidia unveiled a new \u003ca href=\"https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/high-performance-computing/earth-2/\">NVIDIA Earth-2 “family”\u003c/a> of open models, libraries and frameworks for weather and climate AI, offering what it called “the world’s first fully open, accelerated weather AI software stack.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Santa Clara-based chipmaker described the system as “complete” for nowcasting and medium-range predictions that previously took hours on high-performance computing clusters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nvidia said the tools represent the first time AI has surpassed traditional, physics-based weather prediction models in short-term precipitation forecasting. The company added that developers across industries are already using Earth-2 to predict weather and “harness actionable insights.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://youtu.be/qo78lSBYi-U?si=QfwIVTE331HifdRV\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a shot across the bow at other private AI developers, including Alphabet’s Google, Microsoft and Huawei Technologies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Private-sector AI tools like Nvidia’s are welcome additions — not replacements — in a rapidly changing world, according to climate scientist Daniel Swain of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swain said he is less concerned about the hallucinations that plague public-facing large language models than about AI weather modeling’s still unproven ability to predict edge cases based on historical data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sometimes when it matters most — the very most extreme events that might be at the edge or outside of what we’ve seen historically — is precisely when we need the most accurate weather forecast,” Swain said. “We might not be there yet.” He added that the technology is rapidly advancing.[aside postID=news_12070850 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2234090773.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are real gains, in terms of scientific understanding as well as in prediction, and there’s need for continued caution,” said Noah Diffenbaugh, a professor and senior fellow at Stanford University’s Doerr School of Sustainability. But he struck a more cautionary note. “Other AI applications can produce inaccurate results, can produce results that are not grounded in reality. That’s a risk with these systems as well.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Private developers trained their AI on a corpus of data that was largely publicly funded. While that bolsters the models’ credibility with scientists, it also raises troubling questions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For one, private developers are, by definition, concerned with profit — eventually, if not immediately. There is no guarantee they will not begin charging for access to their models.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Within a university context, we have no profit motivation at all,” Diffenbaugh said. “We’re trying to understand how the world works. And we’re doing that within our time scale, a much longer time scale (than private developers). And I think the benefit that we can bring in our work is that we’re doing that work in the context of this rigorous, patient scientific evaluation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The primary question for Swain is whether optimism about end-to-end AI models could be used by Trump administration officials to justify ceding data collection and weather modeling entirely to the private sector, even as global warming dramatically alters the climate system, particularly in California, with its complex interplay of atmospheric rivers, marine layers, Sierra snowpack, wind patterns and wildfire risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Not only are we not there yet, not only do I think we won’t be there anytime soon, I’m not sure that we will ever get to that point,” Swain said. “It’s almost a category error to assume that the success of AI-based predictive modeling means that it’s just going to completely replace that whole pipeline. That’s just fundamentally divorced from the reality of the world we live in today, and very likely to be divorced from the reality of the world that we’re going to be living in for the foreseeable future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Santa Clara-based chipmaker described the system as “complete” for nowcasting and medium-range predictions that previously took hours on high-performance computing clusters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nvidia said the tools represent the first time AI has surpassed traditional, physics-based weather prediction models in short-term precipitation forecasting. The company added that developers across industries are already using Earth-2 to predict weather and “harness actionable insights.”\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/qo78lSBYi-U'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/qo78lSBYi-U'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cp>It’s a shot across the bow at other private AI developers, including Alphabet’s Google, Microsoft and Huawei Technologies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Private-sector AI tools like Nvidia’s are welcome additions — not replacements — in a rapidly changing world, according to climate scientist Daniel Swain of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Swain said he is less concerned about the hallucinations that plague public-facing large language models than about AI weather modeling’s still unproven ability to predict edge cases based on historical data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Sometimes when it matters most — the very most extreme events that might be at the edge or outside of what we’ve seen historically — is precisely when we need the most accurate weather forecast,” Swain said. “We might not be there yet.” He added that the technology is rapidly advancing.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There are real gains, in terms of scientific understanding as well as in prediction, and there’s need for continued caution,” said Noah Diffenbaugh, a professor and senior fellow at Stanford University’s Doerr School of Sustainability. But he struck a more cautionary note. “Other AI applications can produce inaccurate results, can produce results that are not grounded in reality. That’s a risk with these systems as well.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Private developers trained their AI on a corpus of data that was largely publicly funded. While that bolsters the models’ credibility with scientists, it also raises troubling questions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For one, private developers are, by definition, concerned with profit — eventually, if not immediately. There is no guarantee they will not begin charging for access to their models.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Within a university context, we have no profit motivation at all,” Diffenbaugh said. “We’re trying to understand how the world works. And we’re doing that within our time scale, a much longer time scale (than private developers). And I think the benefit that we can bring in our work is that we’re doing that work in the context of this rigorous, patient scientific evaluation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The primary question for Swain is whether optimism about end-to-end AI models could be used by Trump administration officials to justify ceding data collection and weather modeling entirely to the private sector, even as global warming dramatically alters the climate system, particularly in California, with its complex interplay of atmospheric rivers, marine layers, Sierra snowpack, wind patterns and wildfire risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Not only are we not there yet, not only do I think we won’t be there anytime soon, I’m not sure that we will ever get to that point,” Swain said. “It’s almost a category error to assume that the success of AI-based predictive modeling means that it’s just going to completely replace that whole pipeline. That’s just fundamentally divorced from the reality of the world we live in today, and very likely to be divorced from the reality of the world that we’re going to be living in for the foreseeable future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Three voice-activated, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/artificial-intelligence\">AI-powered\u003c/a> toys tested by Common Sense Media researchers raised concerns that they were designed to engineer emotional attachment with young children and collect private data, according to the nonprofit’s report released Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The warning is the latest in a string from consumer advocates about the risks posed to children by artificial intelligence, including in the form of toys like stuffed animals or brightly colored plastic robots that act as chatbots, conversing and telling stories to children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Unlike traditional toys, these devices present a range of new harms,” Common Sense Media researchers wrote in their \u003ca href=\"https://www.commonsensemedia.org/ai-ratings/ai-toys\">report\u003c/a>, which tested the Grem, Bondu and Miko 3 toys.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The children’s advocacy group recommended that parents not give AI companion toys to children 5 and younger, and it warned parents to exercise “extreme caution” even with children 6 to 13 years old.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the group’s December survey of 1,004 parents of children ranging from infants to age 8, nearly half of parents have purchased or are considering purchasing these toys or similar ones for their children. The products are sold by major retailers like Walmart, Costco, Amazon and Target. One in 6 parents told Common Sense they have already purchased one, and 10% said they “definitely plan to.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12070893\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2126123060-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12070893\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2126123060-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1706\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2126123060-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2126123060-2000x1333.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2126123060-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2126123060-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2126123060-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hyodol, the world’s first AI-based companion robot dolls, are being exhibited in the South Korean pavilion at the Mobile World Congress 2024 in Barcelona, Spain, on April 2, 2024. Created by a South Korean company, these dolls are designed to serve as social companions for the elderly and have been commercialized in several countries.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Common Sense Media is not usually in the business of saying, don’t use technology entirely,” said Robbie Torney, head of AI & digital assessments for Common Sense Media. “We really want to trust parents and empower them to make the best choices for their kids. But for under-5 children in particular, our testing showed a set of risks that are really a big developmental mismatch for where these young children are.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Common Sense Media researchers tested the toys by creating child accounts for “users” ages 6 to 13, putting them through both everyday use and sensitive scenarios. Their team, including child development experts, evaluated everything from voice recognition and content accuracy to privacy practices, parental controls and whether the toys’ responses were developmentally appropriate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though the toys are marketed as educational, more than a quarter of their responses in testing weren’t child-appropriate, the Common Sense report found. They included problematic content related to drugs, sex and risky activities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our testing did show that these companies have put tremendous effort into guardrailing their chatbots,” Torney said. But “chatbots don’t understand context. They can’t make determinations about what a child actually means. If you ask about self-harm and then ask for dangerous chemicals, many of these devices will refuse the self-harm question, but won’t make the connection that dangerous chemicals might enable self-harm.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ritvik Sharma, chief growth officer at Miko, based in Mumbai, India, wrote that “child safety, privacy, and healthy development are foundational design requirements — not afterthoughts.” He also said the company was unable to reproduce the behaviors cited by Common Sense Media researchers “under normal operation,” sharing videos that showed Miko redirecting away from potentially problematic questions.[aside postID=news_12069286 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/OpenAI.jpg']“Miko’s conversational experience is powered by a proprietary, child-focused AI system developed specifically for young users, rather than adapted from general-purpose AI models,” Sharma added. “This allows us to evaluate responses for age suitability, emotional tone, and educational value before they reach a child.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, a spokesperson from Redwood-City-based Curio Interactive, which makes Grem, said the company’s toys “are designed with parent permission and control at the center.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Over a two-year beta period, we worked with approximately 2,000 families to develop a multi-tiered safety system that combines constrained conversational scope, age-appropriate design, layered filtering and refusal mechanisms, and continuous real-world monitoring, with safeguards enforced at multiple points in the interaction,” the spokesperson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Torney said parents need to ask themselves how much they trust the internet-connected companions not to cross developmentally appropriate lines into psychologically damaging territory when there’s no meaningful product safety regulation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One of the characteristics of under-5 children is that they have magical thinking, and what’s sometimes referred to as animism, the belief that objects may be real. They think about them differently than older children do,” Torney said. He acknowledged magical thinking can continue into later childhood as well, “which is why we’re still encouraging that extreme caution.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Common Sense Media report comes after an \u003ca href=\"https://fairplayforkids.org/pf/aitoyadvisory\">advisory published in November\u003c/a> by the children’s advocacy group Fairplay strongly urged parents not to buy AI toys during the holiday season. The advisory was signed by more than 150 organizations, child psychiatrists and educators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some of the new AI toys react contingently to young children,” wrote UC Berkeley professor Fei Xu, who directs the Berkeley Early Learning Lab. “That is, when a child says something, the AI toy says something back; if a child waves at the AI toy, it moves. This kind of social contingency is known to be very important for early social, emotional and language development. This raises the potential issue of young children being emotionally attached to these AI toys. More research is urgently needed to study this systematically.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to be exceptionally cautious when introducing understudied technologies with young children, whose biological and emotional minds are very vulnerable,” UCSF psychiatry and pediatrics professor Dr. Nicole Bush wrote. “While AI has the capacity for tremendous benefit to society, young children’s time is better spent with trusted adults and peers, or in constructive play or learning activities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12070888\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1484px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/ai-toys-ss-5.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12070888\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/ai-toys-ss-5.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1484\" height=\"492\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/ai-toys-ss-5.png 1484w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/ai-toys-ss-5-160x53.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1484px) 100vw, 1484px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A chat between a Common Sense Media tester and Miko 3, an AI toy. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Common Sense Media)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Earlier this month, Common Sense Media and OpenAI announced they’re backing a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12069286/openai-and-common-sense-media-partner-on-new-kids-ai-safety-ballot-measure\">consolidated effort\u003c/a> to put a measure on this November’s ballot in California that would institute AI chatbot guardrails for children. That effort is now in the signature-gathering stage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A legislative measure that Common Sense backed, covering much of the same territory, was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12059714/newsom-vetoes-most-watched-childrens-ai-bill-signs-16-others-targeting-tech\">vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom\u003c/a> at the end of last session. In his veto message, Newsom expressed concern that the bill could lead to a total ban on minors using conversational AI tools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“AI is already shaping the world, and it is imperative that adolescents learn how to safely interact with AI systems,” he wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier this year, state Sen. Steve Padilla, D-San Diego, introduced \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB867\">Senate Bill 867\u003c/a>, which would establish a first-in-the-nation four-year moratorium on the sale and manufacture of toys with AI chatbots embedded in them, “until manufacturers have worked out the dangers embedded in them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to put the brakes on AI toys until they are proven safe for kids,” Padilla wrote in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Three voice-activated, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/artificial-intelligence\">AI-powered\u003c/a> toys tested by Common Sense Media researchers raised concerns that they were designed to engineer emotional attachment with young children and collect private data, according to the nonprofit’s report released Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The warning is the latest in a string from consumer advocates about the risks posed to children by artificial intelligence, including in the form of toys like stuffed animals or brightly colored plastic robots that act as chatbots, conversing and telling stories to children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Unlike traditional toys, these devices present a range of new harms,” Common Sense Media researchers wrote in their \u003ca href=\"https://www.commonsensemedia.org/ai-ratings/ai-toys\">report\u003c/a>, which tested the Grem, Bondu and Miko 3 toys.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The children’s advocacy group recommended that parents not give AI companion toys to children 5 and younger, and it warned parents to exercise “extreme caution” even with children 6 to 13 years old.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the group’s December survey of 1,004 parents of children ranging from infants to age 8, nearly half of parents have purchased or are considering purchasing these toys or similar ones for their children. The products are sold by major retailers like Walmart, Costco, Amazon and Target. One in 6 parents told Common Sense they have already purchased one, and 10% said they “definitely plan to.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12070893\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2126123060-scaled.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12070893\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2126123060-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1706\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2126123060-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2126123060-2000x1333.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2126123060-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2126123060-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2126123060-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hyodol, the world’s first AI-based companion robot dolls, are being exhibited in the South Korean pavilion at the Mobile World Congress 2024 in Barcelona, Spain, on April 2, 2024. Created by a South Korean company, these dolls are designed to serve as social companions for the elderly and have been commercialized in several countries.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Common Sense Media is not usually in the business of saying, don’t use technology entirely,” said Robbie Torney, head of AI & digital assessments for Common Sense Media. “We really want to trust parents and empower them to make the best choices for their kids. But for under-5 children in particular, our testing showed a set of risks that are really a big developmental mismatch for where these young children are.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Common Sense Media researchers tested the toys by creating child accounts for “users” ages 6 to 13, putting them through both everyday use and sensitive scenarios. Their team, including child development experts, evaluated everything from voice recognition and content accuracy to privacy practices, parental controls and whether the toys’ responses were developmentally appropriate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though the toys are marketed as educational, more than a quarter of their responses in testing weren’t child-appropriate, the Common Sense report found. They included problematic content related to drugs, sex and risky activities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our testing did show that these companies have put tremendous effort into guardrailing their chatbots,” Torney said. But “chatbots don’t understand context. They can’t make determinations about what a child actually means. If you ask about self-harm and then ask for dangerous chemicals, many of these devices will refuse the self-harm question, but won’t make the connection that dangerous chemicals might enable self-harm.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ritvik Sharma, chief growth officer at Miko, based in Mumbai, India, wrote that “child safety, privacy, and healthy development are foundational design requirements — not afterthoughts.” He also said the company was unable to reproduce the behaviors cited by Common Sense Media researchers “under normal operation,” sharing videos that showed Miko redirecting away from potentially problematic questions.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Miko’s conversational experience is powered by a proprietary, child-focused AI system developed specifically for young users, rather than adapted from general-purpose AI models,” Sharma added. “This allows us to evaluate responses for age suitability, emotional tone, and educational value before they reach a child.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, a spokesperson from Redwood-City-based Curio Interactive, which makes Grem, said the company’s toys “are designed with parent permission and control at the center.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Over a two-year beta period, we worked with approximately 2,000 families to develop a multi-tiered safety system that combines constrained conversational scope, age-appropriate design, layered filtering and refusal mechanisms, and continuous real-world monitoring, with safeguards enforced at multiple points in the interaction,” the spokesperson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Torney said parents need to ask themselves how much they trust the internet-connected companions not to cross developmentally appropriate lines into psychologically damaging territory when there’s no meaningful product safety regulation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“One of the characteristics of under-5 children is that they have magical thinking, and what’s sometimes referred to as animism, the belief that objects may be real. They think about them differently than older children do,” Torney said. He acknowledged magical thinking can continue into later childhood as well, “which is why we’re still encouraging that extreme caution.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Common Sense Media report comes after an \u003ca href=\"https://fairplayforkids.org/pf/aitoyadvisory\">advisory published in November\u003c/a> by the children’s advocacy group Fairplay strongly urged parents not to buy AI toys during the holiday season. The advisory was signed by more than 150 organizations, child psychiatrists and educators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some of the new AI toys react contingently to young children,” wrote UC Berkeley professor Fei Xu, who directs the Berkeley Early Learning Lab. “That is, when a child says something, the AI toy says something back; if a child waves at the AI toy, it moves. This kind of social contingency is known to be very important for early social, emotional and language development. This raises the potential issue of young children being emotionally attached to these AI toys. More research is urgently needed to study this systematically.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to be exceptionally cautious when introducing understudied technologies with young children, whose biological and emotional minds are very vulnerable,” UCSF psychiatry and pediatrics professor Dr. Nicole Bush wrote. “While AI has the capacity for tremendous benefit to society, young children’s time is better spent with trusted adults and peers, or in constructive play or learning activities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12070888\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1484px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/ai-toys-ss-5.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12070888\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/ai-toys-ss-5.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1484\" height=\"492\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/ai-toys-ss-5.png 1484w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/ai-toys-ss-5-160x53.png 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1484px) 100vw, 1484px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A chat between a Common Sense Media tester and Miko 3, an AI toy. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Common Sense Media)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Earlier this month, Common Sense Media and OpenAI announced they’re backing a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12069286/openai-and-common-sense-media-partner-on-new-kids-ai-safety-ballot-measure\">consolidated effort\u003c/a> to put a measure on this November’s ballot in California that would institute AI chatbot guardrails for children. That effort is now in the signature-gathering stage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A legislative measure that Common Sense backed, covering much of the same territory, was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12059714/newsom-vetoes-most-watched-childrens-ai-bill-signs-16-others-targeting-tech\">vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom\u003c/a> at the end of last session. In his veto message, Newsom expressed concern that the bill could lead to a total ban on minors using conversational AI tools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“AI is already shaping the world, and it is imperative that adolescents learn how to safely interact with AI systems,” he wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier this year, state Sen. Steve Padilla, D-San Diego, introduced \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB867\">Senate Bill 867\u003c/a>, which would establish a first-in-the-nation four-year moratorium on the sale and manufacture of toys with AI chatbots embedded in them, “until manufacturers have worked out the dangers embedded in them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to put the brakes on AI toys until they are proven safe for kids,” Padilla wrote in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Ninety-seven years after the birth of Rev. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/martin-luther-king-jr\">Martin Luther King Jr.\u003c/a>, communities in the Bay Area will celebrate the legendary civil rights activist’s legacy by making their voices heard, amid the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs and deport historic numbers of immigrants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This year is not just about honoring history, it’s about practicing for the future,” said Gina Fromer, CEO of San Francisco social justice organization GLIDE. “I have no doubt that we need to march many times this year in defense of our rights. Dr. King said hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fromer said GLIDE’s annual march, which gathers at the San Francisco Caltrain station at Fourth and King Streets and has been a local tradition for 41 years, is intended to mirror the Selma to Montgomery protest marches of 1965.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Across the Bay Area, activists are seizing the moment and transforming what is typically a yearly opportunity to give back through acts of service into a day of political action. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13985432/mlk-day-events-bay-area-guide-2026\">Throughout the Bay Area\u003c/a>, residents are honoring MLK’s desire to strengthen community and building local resilience through shoreline cleanups, food distributions and interfaith gatherings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year, Fromer said, Glide’s march will advocate for “radical inclusivity” at a time when the rights of LGBTQ+, unhoused and immigrant communities are threatened. She noted that the current administration’s attacks make the late leader’s message of “unconditional love” more important than ever.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12067303\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12067303\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/250609-SF-IMMIGRATION-PROTESTS-MD-67-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/250609-SF-IMMIGRATION-PROTESTS-MD-67-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/250609-SF-IMMIGRATION-PROTESTS-MD-67-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/250609-SF-IMMIGRATION-PROTESTS-MD-67-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Protestors march in the Mission District in San Francisco in opposition to the Trump Administration’s immigration policy and enforcement on June 9, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the East Bay, the Freedmen Federation and Faith In Action East Bay have organized a Unity Vigil at Richmond’s City Hall to address what they call “state-sanctioned violence.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kira Lee, a professor and organizer with the collective, said the recent death of Los Angeles resident and U.S. citizen \u003ca href=\"https://naacp.org/articles/naacp-joins-civil-rights-groups-letter-urging-congress-check-ice-abuses-and-uphold\">Keith Porter Jr.\u003c/a> in ICE custody and sightings of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12049389/richmond-school-district-to-train-staff-on-ice-raids-due-to-falling-attendance\">federal immigration agents in Richmond\u003c/a> have made it impossible to separate the holiday from the current political moment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lee called the surge in enforcement an “exercise in othering” that targets residents across race and citizenship status. “I don’t view this as an immigration issue. I view this as a racial issue,” Lee said.[aside postID=news_12069104 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/ReneeGoodProtestOaklandGetty.jpg']“I view it as slave catching, where state violence is being used to decide who belongs and who doesn’t. Black and brown families have been screaming for protection this entire time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the tradition of giving back, South Berkeley high school students with the youth design nonprofit Girls Garage will unveil their renovation of a home for an older Black couple this weekend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday will mark the culmination of a year-long project to repair damage done by an unlicensed contractor that had left the family home unlivable and them at risk of displacement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Emily Pilloton-Lam, the nonprofit’s founder, said that community-led projects offer people realistic ways to take action during periods of national uncertainty. And encouraging young women and gender-expansive youth to lead the remodel, she said, sends a powerful message.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is a very, very difficult time to maintain hope when we see what’s going on all over the country,” Pilloton-Lam said. “Projects like this bring us back down to a really human scale of one family, one neighbor and local organizations. It’s a reminder that we still can make a really big difference in the lives of individuals in our immediate community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12070195\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1980px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12070195\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2194434019.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1264\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2194434019.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2194434019-160x102.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2194434019-1536x981.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People dance and cheer together while marching during the MLK Day March in San Francisco on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. \u003ccite>(San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While President Donald Trump scrapped free entry to National Parks on MLK Day, adding his own birthday to the calendar, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Friday that visitors can enjoy free entry at more than 200 of California’s state parks for MLK Day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Dr. King’s legacy deserves to be honored, not erased,” Newsom said in a statement. “I’m encouraging all Californians to get outside on MLK Day, spend time in nature, reflect on Dr. King’s legacy, and reaffirm our commitment to advancing civil rights for all.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sheila Fritz, a program manager for the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, said for the MLK Day of Service on Monday, volunteers will gather at Fort Mason’s Black Point Historic Gardens to remove invasive species and revegetate the historic garden pathways with native plants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Ninety-seven years after the birth of Rev. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/martin-luther-king-jr\">Martin Luther King Jr.\u003c/a>, communities in the Bay Area will celebrate the legendary civil rights activist’s legacy by making their voices heard, amid the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs and deport historic numbers of immigrants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This year is not just about honoring history, it’s about practicing for the future,” said Gina Fromer, CEO of San Francisco social justice organization GLIDE. “I have no doubt that we need to march many times this year in defense of our rights. Dr. King said hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fromer said GLIDE’s annual march, which gathers at the San Francisco Caltrain station at Fourth and King Streets and has been a local tradition for 41 years, is intended to mirror the Selma to Montgomery protest marches of 1965.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Across the Bay Area, activists are seizing the moment and transforming what is typically a yearly opportunity to give back through acts of service into a day of political action. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13985432/mlk-day-events-bay-area-guide-2026\">Throughout the Bay Area\u003c/a>, residents are honoring MLK’s desire to strengthen community and building local resilience through shoreline cleanups, food distributions and interfaith gatherings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year, Fromer said, Glide’s march will advocate for “radical inclusivity” at a time when the rights of LGBTQ+, unhoused and immigrant communities are threatened. She noted that the current administration’s attacks make the late leader’s message of “unconditional love” more important than ever.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12067303\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12067303\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/250609-SF-IMMIGRATION-PROTESTS-MD-67-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/250609-SF-IMMIGRATION-PROTESTS-MD-67-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/250609-SF-IMMIGRATION-PROTESTS-MD-67-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/250609-SF-IMMIGRATION-PROTESTS-MD-67-KQED-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Protestors march in the Mission District in San Francisco in opposition to the Trump Administration’s immigration policy and enforcement on June 9, 2025. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In the East Bay, the Freedmen Federation and Faith In Action East Bay have organized a Unity Vigil at Richmond’s City Hall to address what they call “state-sanctioned violence.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kira Lee, a professor and organizer with the collective, said the recent death of Los Angeles resident and U.S. citizen \u003ca href=\"https://naacp.org/articles/naacp-joins-civil-rights-groups-letter-urging-congress-check-ice-abuses-and-uphold\">Keith Porter Jr.\u003c/a> in ICE custody and sightings of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12049389/richmond-school-district-to-train-staff-on-ice-raids-due-to-falling-attendance\">federal immigration agents in Richmond\u003c/a> have made it impossible to separate the holiday from the current political moment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lee called the surge in enforcement an “exercise in othering” that targets residents across race and citizenship status. “I don’t view this as an immigration issue. I view this as a racial issue,” Lee said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“I view it as slave catching, where state violence is being used to decide who belongs and who doesn’t. Black and brown families have been screaming for protection this entire time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the tradition of giving back, South Berkeley high school students with the youth design nonprofit Girls Garage will unveil their renovation of a home for an older Black couple this weekend.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday will mark the culmination of a year-long project to repair damage done by an unlicensed contractor that had left the family home unlivable and them at risk of displacement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Emily Pilloton-Lam, the nonprofit’s founder, said that community-led projects offer people realistic ways to take action during periods of national uncertainty. And encouraging young women and gender-expansive youth to lead the remodel, she said, sends a powerful message.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is a very, very difficult time to maintain hope when we see what’s going on all over the country,” Pilloton-Lam said. “Projects like this bring us back down to a really human scale of one family, one neighbor and local organizations. It’s a reminder that we still can make a really big difference in the lives of individuals in our immediate community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12070195\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1980px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12070195\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2194434019.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1264\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2194434019.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2194434019-160x102.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/01/GettyImages-2194434019-1536x981.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">People dance and cheer together while marching during the MLK Day March in San Francisco on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. \u003ccite>(San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While President Donald Trump scrapped free entry to National Parks on MLK Day, adding his own birthday to the calendar, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Friday that visitors can enjoy free entry at more than 200 of California’s state parks for MLK Day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Dr. King’s legacy deserves to be honored, not erased,” Newsom said in a statement. “I’m encouraging all Californians to get outside on MLK Day, spend time in nature, reflect on Dr. King’s legacy, and reaffirm our commitment to advancing civil rights for all.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sheila Fritz, a program manager for the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, said for the MLK Day of Service on Monday, volunteers will gather at Fort Mason’s Black Point Historic Gardens to remove invasive species and revegetate the historic garden pathways with native plants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "How Californians Are Reclaiming Día De Los Muertos as an Act of Cultural Resistance",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was reported for K Onda KQED, a monthly newsletter focused on the Bay Area’s Latinx community. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/newsletters/k-onda\">Click here to subscribe\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I had planned to spend Nov. 1, a Saturday, cleaning and organizing my house. Then my friend Susie Sanchez-Young, owner of The Designing Chica, texted me to suggest I come to a Día de los Muertos event in Lafayette, a mere 15 minutes from my home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That afternoon, my kids and I drove up a windy hill to find parking in Oakmont Cemetery, which sits on a serene and picturesque hill offering amazing views of the north Interstate 680 corridor. We were there not to visit a particular departed loved one, but all of them — the dead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The event featured some elements I’ve come to expect from a Mexican-themed lineup: performances by a mariachi, a folkloric dance company and traditional Aztec dancers.\u003cbr>\nIt was lively without feeling overly cheery, which I appreciated because it provided a sense of community among everyone who wanted to soak in culture, tradition and sacred rituals of mourning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I did not grow up observing Día de los Muertos as anything more than the Mexican version of All Saints Day, a holy day of obligation for Catholics. I don’t build an elaborate altar. But this year, I found myself leaning into Día de los Muertos as an act of honoring loved ones as well as resisting assimilation, embracing artistic expression and reclaiming my Indigenous heritage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The practice of honoring the deceased stretches back thousands of years to the Indigenous peoples of Mexico. Yet the rituals and iconography associated with this observation have modern roots in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco artist and curator \u003ca href=\"https://rioyanez.com/\">Rio Yañez\u003c/a> grew up immersed in Día de los Muertos. His father, the late Rene Yañez, co-founded the altar exhibits and procession in San Francisco’s Mission District in the 1970s and ‘80s that are credited with starting the Día de los Muertos celebrations on the West Coast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12063630\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12063630\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-2.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yobani Nava Chavez made an altar for her son, Eduardo Yobani Nava Chavez, a former teacher, at the Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale in 2023. The altar is decorated with masks that his former students made by hand. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The holiday became a touchstone for the Chicano movement as a way to assert cultural identity and resistance. Still, Rio Yañez said his father, who was born in Mexico, was called out for not being Chicano enough and for reimagining traditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I grew up with my dad being constantly reminded that he was failing a purity test for Day of the Dead,” he said during \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101911846/how-dia-de-los-muertos-continues-to-evolve\">a show I produced for KQED’s Forum\u003c/a>. “As a Chicano, as a Mexican American, adaptation, reinvention, reinterpretation — that is always what (Día de los Muertos) has been about.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yañez co-curated an exhibit at SOMArts called Día de Los Muertos 2025: We Love You that featured female and nonbinary artists presenting different interpretations of an altar. He noted that altars for public view often include political statements, call attention to issues and challenge the status quo.[aside postID=news_12059504 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/20250930_HISPANICSERVINGINSTITUTIONS_GC-7-KQED.jpg']I’m now used to seeing jack-o’-lanterns next to Catrinas in many American homes, signaling the holiday’s place in mainstream America. The irony is that while many non-Latinos now embrace Día de los Muertos, they often focus more on the aesthetics and festive aspects instead of seeing it as a channel for grief, remembrance and connection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We can stop Mattel from making Catrina Barbies,” Yañez told me. “Where we can make a difference and have some control is in what we can do as a community and for each other and how we engage with each other.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Día de los Muertos has turned into a cultural phenomenon because it’s a rare opportunity to talk about the dead outside of a funeral context, said Luisa Navarro, a Texas native who runs a blog and gift shop in Brooklyn called \u003ca href=\"https://mexicoinmypocket.com/\">Mexico in My Pocket\u003c/a> and recently released a book titled Mexico’s Day of the Dead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are a very inviting culture. We have room at the table for everyone, but it’s important to educate yourself and understand the holiday,” she told me. “I try to avoid shaming people and policing people who don’t understand. Instead, I tell stories and educate people about the meaning and origin.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The essence of the holiday remains remembering deceased loved ones, but observing this practice has also served as an act of resistance and resilience since the time Spanish colonizers failed to stamp it out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m on this mission to share our stories, to spread awareness because there’s so many misconceptions and stereotypes about our culture,” Navarro said. “It is so, so, so beautiful how the Chicano movement and how our community has continued to amplify our stories, to keep our traditions alive and to keep our duality alive. And I’m so so proud of that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12063326\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12063326\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/20251106_ICE-VIGIL_GH-15-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/20251106_ICE-VIGIL_GH-15-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/20251106_ICE-VIGIL_GH-15-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/20251106_ICE-VIGIL_GH-15-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A demonstrator holds a sign reading “Santuario: Manteniendo Familias Unidas” (“Sanctuary: Keeping Families United”) during the Faith in Action “Walking Our Faith” vigil outside the San Francisco Immigration Court on Nov. 6, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This year has been a psychologically difficult year for immigrant communities that are under attack by the Trump administration, which has used brutal tactics to detain immigrants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As I reflected on this, I thought of how Belinda Hernandez-Arriaga, founder and CEO of Ayudando Latinos A Soñar, a nonprofit that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12021877/california-nonprofit-empowers-half-moon-bay-farmworkers-healing-resources\">serves the immigrant community\u003c/a> in Half Moon Bay, uses culture as a cure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s been especially important during the last couple of years of COVID, where there was a lot of loss. And with our recent, two years ago, the mass shooting of our seven farm workers, the Día de los Muertos and the altar gave us a place to come together as a community to grieve and to remember and to not forget,” she said during the Forum show. “It’s a portal for mental health. It’s also a portal for well-being and resistance and community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back at Oakmont Cemetery, I stood in a long line with my 6-year-old daughter, who waited patiently for close to an hour to have her face painted in the Catrina style.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We watched the Aztec dancers light copal, a tree resin that has been used for rituals for thousands of years, and perform a ceremonial dance. I explained that the Indigenous people have populated Mexico for centuries and started the very practice we took part in that day. I then explained that after the Spanish arrived, the cultures mixed, and continue evolving into the version we have today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Later that evening, we lit a candle in front of a display of photographs of deceased loved ones and talked about who they were. Among the collection are \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/2021/12/15/how-vicente-fernandez-earned-appreciation-for-rancheros-like-my-dad/\">photos of my dad\u003c/a>, the only grandparent my children have not met because he passed away before they were born.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They asked me about his favorite foods and what he was like. It was a simple observation of Día de los Muertos, and one small way to keep his memory alive for the next generation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was reported for K Onda KQED, a monthly newsletter focused on the Bay Area’s Latinx community. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/newsletters/k-onda\">Click here to subscribe\u003c/a>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I had planned to spend Nov. 1, a Saturday, cleaning and organizing my house. Then my friend Susie Sanchez-Young, owner of The Designing Chica, texted me to suggest I come to a Día de los Muertos event in Lafayette, a mere 15 minutes from my home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That afternoon, my kids and I drove up a windy hill to find parking in Oakmont Cemetery, which sits on a serene and picturesque hill offering amazing views of the north Interstate 680 corridor. We were there not to visit a particular departed loved one, but all of them — the dead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The event featured some elements I’ve come to expect from a Mexican-themed lineup: performances by a mariachi, a folkloric dance company and traditional Aztec dancers.\u003cbr>\nIt was lively without feeling overly cheery, which I appreciated because it provided a sense of community among everyone who wanted to soak in culture, tradition and sacred rituals of mourning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I did not grow up observing Día de los Muertos as anything more than the Mexican version of All Saints Day, a holy day of obligation for Catholics. I don’t build an elaborate altar. But this year, I found myself leaning into Día de los Muertos as an act of honoring loved ones as well as resisting assimilation, embracing artistic expression and reclaiming my Indigenous heritage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The practice of honoring the deceased stretches back thousands of years to the Indigenous peoples of Mexico. Yet the rituals and iconography associated with this observation have modern roots in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco artist and curator \u003ca href=\"https://rioyanez.com/\">Rio Yañez\u003c/a> grew up immersed in Día de los Muertos. His father, the late Rene Yañez, co-founded the altar exhibits and procession in San Francisco’s Mission District in the 1970s and ‘80s that are credited with starting the Día de los Muertos celebrations on the West Coast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12063630\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12063630\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-2.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/231029_OAKDiadelosMuertosFestival_EG-2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yobani Nava Chavez made an altar for her son, Eduardo Yobani Nava Chavez, a former teacher, at the Oakland Día de los Muertos Festival in Fruitvale in 2023. The altar is decorated with masks that his former students made by hand. \u003ccite>(Estefany Gonzalez for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The holiday became a touchstone for the Chicano movement as a way to assert cultural identity and resistance. Still, Rio Yañez said his father, who was born in Mexico, was called out for not being Chicano enough and for reimagining traditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I grew up with my dad being constantly reminded that he was failing a purity test for Day of the Dead,” he said during \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101911846/how-dia-de-los-muertos-continues-to-evolve\">a show I produced for KQED’s Forum\u003c/a>. “As a Chicano, as a Mexican American, adaptation, reinvention, reinterpretation — that is always what (Día de los Muertos) has been about.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yañez co-curated an exhibit at SOMArts called Día de Los Muertos 2025: We Love You that featured female and nonbinary artists presenting different interpretations of an altar. He noted that altars for public view often include political statements, call attention to issues and challenge the status quo.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>I’m now used to seeing jack-o’-lanterns next to Catrinas in many American homes, signaling the holiday’s place in mainstream America. The irony is that while many non-Latinos now embrace Día de los Muertos, they often focus more on the aesthetics and festive aspects instead of seeing it as a channel for grief, remembrance and connection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We can stop Mattel from making Catrina Barbies,” Yañez told me. “Where we can make a difference and have some control is in what we can do as a community and for each other and how we engage with each other.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Día de los Muertos has turned into a cultural phenomenon because it’s a rare opportunity to talk about the dead outside of a funeral context, said Luisa Navarro, a Texas native who runs a blog and gift shop in Brooklyn called \u003ca href=\"https://mexicoinmypocket.com/\">Mexico in My Pocket\u003c/a> and recently released a book titled Mexico’s Day of the Dead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are a very inviting culture. We have room at the table for everyone, but it’s important to educate yourself and understand the holiday,” she told me. “I try to avoid shaming people and policing people who don’t understand. Instead, I tell stories and educate people about the meaning and origin.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The essence of the holiday remains remembering deceased loved ones, but observing this practice has also served as an act of resistance and resilience since the time Spanish colonizers failed to stamp it out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m on this mission to share our stories, to spread awareness because there’s so many misconceptions and stereotypes about our culture,” Navarro said. “It is so, so, so beautiful how the Chicano movement and how our community has continued to amplify our stories, to keep our traditions alive and to keep our duality alive. And I’m so so proud of that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12063326\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12063326\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/20251106_ICE-VIGIL_GH-15-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/20251106_ICE-VIGIL_GH-15-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/20251106_ICE-VIGIL_GH-15-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/20251106_ICE-VIGIL_GH-15-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A demonstrator holds a sign reading “Santuario: Manteniendo Familias Unidas” (“Sanctuary: Keeping Families United”) during the Faith in Action “Walking Our Faith” vigil outside the San Francisco Immigration Court on Nov. 6, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This year has been a psychologically difficult year for immigrant communities that are under attack by the Trump administration, which has used brutal tactics to detain immigrants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As I reflected on this, I thought of how Belinda Hernandez-Arriaga, founder and CEO of Ayudando Latinos A Soñar, a nonprofit that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12021877/california-nonprofit-empowers-half-moon-bay-farmworkers-healing-resources\">serves the immigrant community\u003c/a> in Half Moon Bay, uses culture as a cure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s been especially important during the last couple of years of COVID, where there was a lot of loss. And with our recent, two years ago, the mass shooting of our seven farm workers, the Día de los Muertos and the altar gave us a place to come together as a community to grieve and to remember and to not forget,” she said during the Forum show. “It’s a portal for mental health. It’s also a portal for well-being and resistance and community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back at Oakmont Cemetery, I stood in a long line with my 6-year-old daughter, who waited patiently for close to an hour to have her face painted in the Catrina style.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We watched the Aztec dancers light copal, a tree resin that has been used for rituals for thousands of years, and perform a ceremonial dance. I explained that the Indigenous people have populated Mexico for centuries and started the very practice we took part in that day. I then explained that after the Spanish arrived, the cultures mixed, and continue evolving into the version we have today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Later that evening, we lit a candle in front of a display of photographs of deceased loved ones and talked about who they were. Among the collection are \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/2021/12/15/how-vicente-fernandez-earned-appreciation-for-rancheros-like-my-dad/\">photos of my dad\u003c/a>, the only grandparent my children have not met because he passed away before they were born.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They asked me about his favorite foods and what he was like. It was a simple observation of Día de los Muertos, and one small way to keep his memory alive for the next generation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "twilight-movies-saga-20-years-anniversary-stephanie-meyer-robert-pattinson-kristen-stewart",
"title": "Long Live ‘Twilight’: Bay Area Fans Memorialize The Messy, Beautiful Legacy of Vampire Romance",
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"content": "\u003cp>The date was Nov. 10, 2008. Barack Obama had just become America’s first Black president. A new artist named Lady Gaga had released her debut album\u003cem>. \u003c/em>The U.S. was just one month from an official recession.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in San Francisco, the city’s Stonestown Galleria mall was brimming with the anxious energy of \u003ca href=\"https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2008/11/10/twilight-star-robert-pattinson-sparks-pandemonium-at-stonestown-galleria-in-s-f/\">three thousand fans\u003c/a> of the \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>book series by Stephenie Meyer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The crowd had gathered to meet the actor playing the lead in a brand-new movie adaptation: Robert Pattinson. But only the first few hundred would be able to actually meet the aloof British actor — who wasn’t yet a star \u003cem>— \u003c/em>in the mall’s relatively tiny Hot Topic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tmz.com/2008/11/10/bloodsuckers-trample-kids-at-twilight-signing/\">As TMZ reported\u003c/a>, mayhem ensued as attendees began pushing forward, hoping to be the lucky first few. In what ABC 7 described as \u003ca href=\"https://abc7news.com/archive/7108032/\">“near rioting,” \u003c/a>the crowd collided, with fans being trampled and one girl reportedly breaking her nose. The event was promptly canceled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12057506\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12057506\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/TMZ_resized.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/TMZ_resized.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/TMZ_resized-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/TMZ_resized-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Entertainment outlet TMZ reported on the Stonestown Galleria ‘Twilight’ fan incident in 2008. \u003ccite>(Screenshot via TMZ.com)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I remember seeing the girl on the news, ‘I love ‘\u003cem>Twilight\u003c/em>’ so much,’ blood coming out of her nostrils,” Pattinson — who has admittedly owned up \u003ca href=\"https://variety.com/2024/film/news/robert-pattinson-lied-interview-clown-death-explosion-1236234848/\">to lying in press interviews out of boredom\u003c/a> — told \u003ca href=\"https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/movies-tv/robert-pattinson-recalls-stonestown-mall-riot-and-getting-weird-in-lighthouse\">SFGATE in 2019\u003c/a>. “It was spectacular, you couldn’t have paid for better promotion.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Throwing caution to the wind, Stonestown Galleria dared to hold another \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>meet-and-greet the following year to celebrate the release of the sequel, \u003cem>New Moon\u003c/em>, featuring two members of the supporting cast. Relying on \u003ca href=\"https://abc7chicago.com/archive/7108032/\">extra security\u003c/a>, the mall avoided a repeat of the 2008 crush.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Jump straight to: \u003ca href=\"#ahostofTwilightthemedeventslocally\">\u003cem>Twilight\u003c/em>-themed events around the Bay Area\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>One of the fans in attendance, 16-year-old Kathalina Lopez of Richmond, told \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/twilight-stars-thrill-hundreds-in-s-f-3281369.php\">SFGate\u003c/a> that \u003cem>she \u003c/em>heard the girl who got hurt in 2008 got to meet Pattinson that day after all. “I want to get trampled now,” Lopez said wistfully.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12057472\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1998px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12057472\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/twilight1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1998\" height=\"1332\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/twilight1.jpg 1998w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/twilight1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/twilight1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1998px) 100vw, 1998px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The newest installment of the “Twilight” movie series comes out later this month. And one of the stars, Kellan Lutz, signed an autograph in the parking lot of the Stonestown Mall in San Francisco, California, on Monday, Nov. 9, 2009. \u003ccite>(\tSan Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers/Contributor)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This October will mark 20 years since Meyer’s first \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>book was published, spawning three more novels and launching the wildly popular film franchise starring Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. In honor of the anniversary, \u003ca href=\"#thefilmswillreturntotheaters\"> the films will return to theaters, accompanied by\u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"#ahostofTwilightthemedeventslocally\"> a host of \u003cem>Twilight-\u003c/em>themed events locally that include\u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.ticketmaster.com/twilight-in-concert-san-jose-california-09-26-2025/event/1C0062B0B14A5BA2\"> a San Jose screening on Friday, accompanied by a live orchestra.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But here in the Bay Area, affection for the vampire romance saga — and the meaning fans drew from it — never truly died.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Twenty years of \u003cem>Twilight\u003c/em>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The initial fandom sparked by Meyer’s books — following shy teen Bella Swan as she falls in love with brooding fellow student Edward, who is in fact a century-old vampire — went supernova in 2008 with the release of the first film adaptation, \u003cem>Twilight\u003c/em>.[aside postID=arts_13981344 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/09/Bullitt-at-Presidio-Sundown-Cinema_6.14.2024_Marlene-Sanchez_-_19.png']Directed by Catherine Hardwicke of rebellious-\u003ca href=\"https://girlsontopstees.com/en-us/blogs/read-me/we-owe-our-girlhood-to-catherine-hardwicke?srsltid=AfmBOooCke_bhQWQDwLyYYj05Go5kGnPAknUBhoOLxlCf-YMH0O3IZJA\">girlhood blueprint \u003cem>Thirteen\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, the movie’s mix of longing, emo-meets-goth-meets-Livejournal-entry \u003ca href=\"https://www.instyle.com/twilight-bella-swan-fall-fashion-trend-tiktok-8719317\">aesthetics\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@letterboxd/video/7534776041483635998\">2000s aquamarine filters \u003c/a>immediately found its audience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the years that followed, four more sequels from three different (male) directors ensued through 2012, bringing plots that expanded beyond supernatural high school romance into European vampire cabals and werewolf battles. The saga also ignited \u003ca href=\"https://www.netflix.com/title/70143860\">a paranormal\u003c/a> romance trend and launched the careers of Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, whose doomed \u003ca href=\"https://people.com/kristen-stewart-robert-pattinson-relationship-timeline-7503049\">real-life romance\u003c/a> only fueled fans’ feverish interest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eight years later, the films’ \u003ca href=\"https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/twilight-renaissance\">popular resurgence\u003c/a> arrived during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic — and boosted hugely by the availability of all five movies on streaming platforms when most of the United States was under stay-at-home orders. As my San Francisco friend Jenny George notes, suddenly, many more people could relate to the scene in \u003cem>New Moon\u003c/em>, where a forlorn Bella sits statue-still in her room as the months and seasons pass by her.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/twilightreborn/status/1366175454042931203\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s kind of how [depression] goes sometimes,” George, who recalls streaming the movies back-to-back during lockdown. “I thought it was a pretty astute way to show how empty she was.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Social media during this period had evolved into something very different from the 2010s landscape the movies were first born into, with Twitter, \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2F8jotfjccyjv11.jpg\">Tumblr\u003c/a>, Reddit and \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@roppongi52/video/7540858691138931981\">TikTok \u003c/a>generating and spreading \u003ca href=\"https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcThqxr0gbZ2RR871ex22ujpShKu0_Px4_ILpg&s\">memes \u003c/a>like wildfire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/mushypeagirl/status/1241092850844082182\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And the movies – achingly sincere and embracing the rollercoaster of emotions that come with being a teenager in love – were a goldmine for social media content: Edward declaring, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHse6q92lb0\">“This is the skin of a killer, Bella.”\u003c/a> A vampires-play-baseball scene soundtracked to Muse’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbMLXZsJ1P8\">“Supermassive Blackhole”\u003c/a>. An uncanny CGI \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgI_oMMIU0E\">vampire-human hybrid baby\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px; min-width: 325px;\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@caiticlare89/video/7302233520729115935\" data-video-id=\"7302233520729115935\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@caiticlare89\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@caiticlare89?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@caiticlare89\u003c/a> Mask off \u003ca title=\"titussburgess\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/titussburgess?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#titussburgess\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"tituss\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/tituss?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#tituss\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"twilight\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/twilight?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#twilight\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"twilightsaga\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/twilightsaga?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#twilightsaga\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"twilighttiktok\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/twilighttiktok?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#twilighttiktok\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"renesmee\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/renesmee?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#renesmee\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"bellaswan\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/bellaswan?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#bellaswan\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"edwardcullen\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/edwardcullen?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#edwardcullen\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"jacobblack\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/jacobblack?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#jacobblack\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - Bleak Salvation\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7302233522868161310?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Bleak Salvation\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>[tiktok]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Suddenly, the \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>saga was seen as something of a camp masterpiece. \u003ca href=\"https://buggirl200.com/blogs/news/a-t-shirt-shop-for-the-semi-ironic-twilight-fan\">Semi-ironic\u003c/a> merchandise sold out online. Rowdy drag screenings took over venues like San Francisco’s \u003ca href=\"https://roxie.com/film/twilight-2008/\">Roxie Theater\u003c/a>. Even \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTMJaXuRe/\">Pattinson, a famous hater of his own franchise,\u003c/a> gave credit to \u003ca href=\"https://www.billboard.com/culture/tv-film/robert-pattinson-interview-twilight-soundtracks-8505754/\">its excellent soundtrack\u003c/a>. \u003cem>Twilight\u003c/em> fan Sophie Kim, an assistant producer at KQED, noted that fans who were too young when the movies first came out are now selling old \u003cem>Twilight\u003c/em> items on resale app Depop “like it’s Balenciaga.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12057507\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12057507\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Olivia-Rodrigo_resized.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Olivia-Rodrigo_resized.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Olivia-Rodrigo_resized-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Olivia-Rodrigo_resized-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An Instagram post from Olivia Rodrigo displaying an Edward and Bella-themed purse. \u003ccite>(Olivia Rodrigo/Instagram)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>KQED’s Vicky Chung, who grew up watching the movies in Sunnyvale theaters, has the books on her desk and a \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@bexterhexter/video/7530218141532622102\">“Where the hell have you been loca?”\u003c/a> mug in hand, proudly: because people just \u003cem>get it\u003c/em> now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s no point in feeling a little guilty about my guilty pleasure,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Reclaiming \u003cem>Twilight\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Despite the movies making billions of dollars upon release, \u003ca href=\"https://www.tmz.com/2008/11/10/bloodsuckers-trample-kids-at-twilight-signing/\">contemporary coverage\u003c/a> of moments like the 2008 Stonestown Galleria incident exemplifies how the mostly young, mostly female “Twihard” fandom was originally \u003ca href=\"https://www.flowjournal.org/2009/12/rabid-obsessed-and-frenzied-understanding-twilight-fangirls-and-the-gendered-politics-of-fandom-melissa-click-university-of-missouri/\">mocked or derided\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carrying signs that read \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2009/jul/29/comic-con-2009-revenge-nerds\">“\u003cem>Twilight\u003c/em> has RUINED Comic-Con,” \u003c/a>male comic book fans protested the Twihards at the annual San Diego fandom convention — unaware that \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/cjsocrayzee/status/1943795663227302259?s=46&t=7BBzFwo6eYLzJIVfAlumEQ\">Pattinson would cross over into their fandom \u003c/a>to become \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Batman_(film)\">their Batman \u003c/a>within a mere 13 years. And KQED’s Kim, who grew up in Orange County, recalled that growing up, for every girl reading the book in her school cafeteria to look “really mysterious,” there was a teenage boy mocking her interests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px; min-width: 325px;\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@netflixlat/video/7351273567100734726\" data-video-id=\"7351273567100734726\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@netflixlat\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@netflixlat?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@netflixlat\u003c/a> Esta escena es icónica en cualquier idioma 🐺 \u003ca title=\"crepusculo\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/crepusculo?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#Crepusculo\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"lunanueva\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/lunanueva?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#LunaNueva\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"crepusculolunanueva\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/crepusculolunanueva?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#CrepusculoLunaNueva\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"twilight\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/twilight?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#Twilight\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"twilightnewmoon\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/twilightnewmoon?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#TwilightNewMoon\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"jacob\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/jacob?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#Jacob\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"jacobblack\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/jacobblack?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#JacobBlack\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"bella\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/bella?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#Bella\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"bellaswan\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/bellaswan?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#BellaSwan\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"loca\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/loca?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#Loca\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"wherehaveyoubeenloca\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/wherehaveyoubeenloca?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#WhereHaveYouBeenLoca\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"meme\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/meme?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#Meme\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"idiomas\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/idiomas?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#Idiomas\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"tiktokmehizover\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/tiktokmehizover?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#TikTokMeHizoVer\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"peliculas\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/peliculas?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#Peliculas\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"netflix\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/netflix?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#Netflix\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"parati\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/parati?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#ParaTi\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ Dónde rayos te has metido loca. Crepúsculo. - Netflix Latinoamérica\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/D%C3%B3nde-rayos-te-has-metido-loca-Crep%C3%BAsculo-7351273603133917958?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ Dónde rayos te has metido loca. Crepúsculo. – Netflix Latinoamérica\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>[tiktok]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in the intervening years, culture enjoyed by young women and their mothers became (\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O06tMbIKh0\">something) less of a popular punching bag\u003c/a>. 2023 \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/12/27/1221483930/girl-economy-taylor-swift-beyonce-barbie-2023\">was even declared\u003c/a> by \u003ca href=\"https://mashable.com/article/2023-girl-trends-barbie\">some outlets\u003c/a> as the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C4l5yHdpT-b/\">‘Year of The Girl,’\u003c/a> in recognition of the phenomenal cultural — and economic — impact of \u003cem>Barbie,\u003c/em> along with high-grossing stadium tours from Taylor Swift and Beyoncé. The \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>saga was, Kim said, “just too ahead of its time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12057479\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12057479\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Twilight-Photo-Collage.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1240\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Twilight-Photo-Collage.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Twilight-Photo-Collage-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Twilight-Photo-Collage-1536x992.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eden Crowhurst growing up in Livermore, right, Twilight memorabilia from KQED’s Vicky Chung, left. \u003ccite>(Darren Tu/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Twilight’\u003c/em>s popular reclamation has also been driven in large part by recognition of its queer credentials. Actor Stewart, who came out as queer in 2017, told \u003ca href=\"https://variety.com/2024/film/features/kristen-stewart-coming-out-twilight-gay-sundance-sex-scenes-1235867627/\">\u003cem>Variety\u003c/em>\u003c/a> that “it’s such a gay movie,” and that its themes of dangerous desire are “a very Gothic, gay inclination that I love.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Daly City artist and \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>fan Amie Sarazan agrees wholeheartedly, calling the series “a foundational work of bisexual panic.” For Sarazan, the saga is “at once, this pop cultural juggernaut and also this bizarre indie movie that shouldn’t be as weird as it is.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12057508\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12057508\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/I-survived_resized.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/I-survived_resized.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/I-survived_resized-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/I-survived_resized-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An Instagram post from buggirl200brand of a Twilight-themed shirt.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Sarazan, a costume designer for stars like Trixie Mattel and Peaches Christ, watches the \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>movies on a loop while sewing for their drag clientele. And for their birthday last year, they convinced Bay Area collective \u003ca href=\"https://mediameltdown.tv/\">Media Meltdown\u003c/a> to turn the retro 4-Star Theater in San Francisco’s Richmond District into an adoring \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>drag tribute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the party, performer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/cheetahbiscotti/?hl=en\">Cheetah Biscotti\u003c/a> strutted down the aisle, ripping off their shirt like the scorned werewolf Jacob Black. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/piranha_psychotronica/?hl=en\">Piranha Psychotronica\u003c/a> touched Sarazan’s hand and read their mind – mimicking the saga’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZrvflNZPCM\">unhinged villain Aro \u003c/a>portrayed by Martin Sheen – as \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>erotica blared in the background. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/kafka.drag/?hl=en\">Kafka X\u003c/a> bit Sarazan’s neck, making them “forever 39.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sarazan was even dressed as Vampire Bella herself in a dark navy blue dress with tinted sunglasses to mimic blood-red eyes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12057509\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12057509 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Amie-photoshoot_resized.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Amie-photoshoot_resized.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Amie-photoshoot_resized-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Amie-photoshoot_resized-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An image from Amie Sarazan’s ‘Twilight’-themed birthday photoshoot. Photo provided by Nicole Fraser-Herron.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Afterward, Sarazan cued up that night’s screening: the fourth installment of the saga, \u003cem>Breaking Dawn: Part 1. \u003c/em>They recall being “in full delight” watching their friends scream during the film’s wilder moments, including a pregnant Bella receiving an emergency C-section from her vampire husband using his teeth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Because my experience in a female body has been one of body horror,” they said, “I like to inflict that on my friends.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Twilight’ as text\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Twenty years after the \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>book series was released into the world, the novels and the movies they spawned have also become the focus of academic study — opening up the thornier aspects of the saga to critical appraisal from fans and students alike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recent graduate Eden Crowhurst, who taught a student class on the \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>saga at UC Berkeley, said she was compelled to create this course after seeing franchises deemed more “acceptable for boys to read” be the center of other classes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Crowhurst, whose appreciation for the saga was cultivated by her \u003cem>Twilight\u003c/em>-loving family, wanted to prove that a series with a mostly female fanbase could be discussed in an academic sense.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After all, for many, \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>is a truly \u003ca href=\"https://womensenews.org/2025/06/watching-twilight-in-a-post-roe-america-hits-differently/\">loaded text\u003c/a>, with a lot to dissect even after all of these years, she said — everything from innocence and love to sex and chastity, interwoven with themes from Meyer’s own Mormon faith. There’s also an upholding of whiteness – especially among vampires, who are described as incredibly pale and beautiful – and the depictions of an indigenous tribe that Meyer “Christianizes” in “every sense of the word,” Crowhurst said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px; min-width: 325px;\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@dantehotsauce/video/7420595982489947422\" data-video-id=\"7420595982489947422\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@dantehotsauce\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@dantehotsauce?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@dantehotsauce\u003c/a> i cant escape mormonism \u003ca title=\"twilight\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/twilight?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#twilight\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"twilightsaga\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/twilightsaga?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#twilightsaga\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ Originalton - moetdaddy\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/Originalton-7317970034784422689?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ Originalton – moetdaddy\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>[tiktok]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Noting the “perfect bad media” aspect of \u003cem>Twilight’s \u003c/em>resurgence, Crowhurst stresses the escapism inherent in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O06tMbIKh0\">much-derided romance genre\u003c/a> of which the series is a part, despite its horror trappings. It’s no accident that the series found true popularity during the 2008 recession, she said — with hero Edward providing a fantasy of protecting Bella physically and financially.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Romance is the one place where women can really be like, ‘No, this is what I want,'” Crowhurst said. “And \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>is kind of the blueprint for these things.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Crowhurst wants her fellow students to critically engage with \u003cem>Twilight’\u003c/em>s myriad contradictions, too. “It’s such a weird book series because again, it toes the line,” she said. “The reception can be feminist, but also the content is very conservative.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And ultimately, for Crowhurst, this complexity holds true for the saga’s legacy itself. “People take \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>nowadays more seriously — and less seriously,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How you can observe 20 years of \u003cem>Twilight\u003c/em> in the Bay Area\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Internalize the \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>vibe\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>First off, listen to Sarazan: Washington-set \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>is not a “Halloween movie” but \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjGLNDuhTc0\">“a rainy season movie”\u003c/a> — and the Bay has \u003cem>plenty \u003c/em>of gloomy,\u003cem> “\u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-XUZgrCCjzo\">\u003cem>hoa-hoa-hoa-hoa\u003c/em>\u003c/a>” brooding spots here if you want to observe the 20th anniversary properly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED has a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12049568/best-bay-area-hikes-for-cold-gloomy-weather\">round-up of spaces\u003c/a> perfect for overcast days, including Tomales Bay in Point Reyes and the eucalyptus groves in El Granada. Just be sure to bring your \u003ca href=\"https://www.amazon.com/ASVP-Shop-Original-Twilight-Filter/dp/B0CDNMYZM7\">\u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>filter lens\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"thefilmswillreturntotheaters\">\u003c/a> \u003cstrong>Attend a \u003cem>Twilight\u003c/em> movie screening\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To mark the 20th anniversary of the \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>book series’ publication, studio Lionsgate is \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/reel/1185872683714959\">bringing\u003c/a> the entire \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>series back to theaters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Major chains across the Bay Area are showing each movie in \u003cem>The Twilight Saga\u003c/em>, mostly from Oct. 29 to Nov. 2:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>San Francisco screenings: \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/amc-metreon-16-aanem/theater-page?format=all&date=2025-10-29\">AMC Metreon 16\u003c/a> in San Francisco\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>East Bay screenings:\u003c/em> AMC Bay Street 16 in Emeryville; \u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/cinemark-century-hilltop-16-aaqal/theater-page?format=all&date=2025-11-02\">Cinemark Century Hilltop 16\u003c/a> in Richmond; \u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/cinemark-century-bayfair-mall-16-aapic/theater-page?format=all&date=2025-11-02\">Cinemark Century Bayfair Mall 16\u003c/a> in San Leandro; \u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/cinemark-century-at-hayward-aavac/theater-page?format=all&date=2025-10-29\">Cinemark Century\u003c/a> in Hayward; \u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/cinemark-century-walnut-creek-14-and-xd-aarar/theater-page?format=all&date=2025-10-29\">Cinemark Century Walnut Creek 14\u003c/a> in Walnut Creek; \u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/cinemark-century-downtown-pleasant-hill-16-and-xd-aaqam/theater-page?format=all&date=2025-10-29\">Cinemark Century Downtown Pleasant Hill 16\u003c/a> in Pleasant Hill; \u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/cinemark-century-union-landing-25-and-xd-aanay/theater-page?format=all\">Cinemark Century\u003c/a> in Union City; \u003ca href=\"https://www.amctheatres.com/movies/the-twilight-saga-new-moon-2009-re-81105/showtimes?date=2025-10-30\">AMC NewPark 12\u003c/a> in Newark; \u003ca href=\"https://www.amctheatres.com/movies/the-twilight-saga-new-moon-2009-re-81105/showtimes?date=2025-10-30\">AMC Brentwood 14\u003c/a> in Brentwood; \u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/regal-hacienda-crossings-screenx-imax-and-rpx-aaopk/theater-page?format=all&date=2025-10-29\">Regal Hacienda Crossings\u003c/a> in Dublin; \u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/cinemark-century-vallejo-14-aapis/theater-page?format=all\">Cinemark Century\u003c/a> in Vallejo\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>North Bay screenings: \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/regal-edwards-fairfield-and-imax-aandk/theater-page?format=all&date=2025-10-29\">Regal Edwards\u003c/a> in Fairfield; \u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/cinemark-century-great-mall-20-xd-and-screenx-aapcg/theater-page?format=all&date=2025-10-29\">Cinemark Century Great Mall\u003c/a> in Milpitas; \u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/cinemark-century-napa-valley-and-xd-aawtt/theater-page?format=all&date=2025-10-29\">Cinemark Century\u003c/a> in Napa\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>South Bay screenings: \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/cinemark-century-daly-city-20-xd-and-imax-aaqlt/theater-page?format=all&date=2025-10-29\">Cinemark Century Daly City 20\u003c/a> in Daly City; \u003ca href=\"https://www.cinemark.com/theatres/ca-san-mateo/cinemark-century-san-mateo-12\">Cinemark Century\u003c/a> in San Mateo; \u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/cinepolis-luxury-cinemas-san-mateo-aayrv/theater-page?format=all&date=2025-10-29\">Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas\u003c/a> in San Mateo; \u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/cinemark-century-redwood-downtown-20-and-xd-aaubf/theater-page?format=all&date=2025-10-29\">Cinemark Century\u003c/a> in Redwood City; \u003ca href=\"https://www.amctheatres.com/movies/the-twilight-saga-new-moon-2009-re-81105/showtimes?date=2025-10-30\">AMC Mercado 20\u003c/a> in Santa Clara; \u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/cinemark-century-mountain-view-16-aacfx/theater-page?format=all&date=2025-10-29\">Cinemark Century\u003c/a> in Mountain View; \u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/cinemark-century-at-pacific-commons-and-xd-aawqb/theater-page?format=all\">Cinemark Century at Pacific Commons\u003c/a> in Fremont; \u003ca href=\"https://www.amctheatres.com/movies/the-twilight-saga-new-moon-2009-re-81105/showtimes?date=2025-10-30\">AMC Saratoga 14\u003c/a> in San Jose; \u003ca href=\"https://www.amctheatres.com/movies/the-twilight-saga-new-moon-2009-re-81105/showtimes?date=2025-10-30\">AMC Eastridge 15\u003c/a> in San Jose\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’d like to host your own screening, be prepared to pay around $4 for an online rental: the movies have \u003ca href=\"https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/articles/twilight-leaving-netflix-where-watch-163000433.html\">recently been pulled from Netflix\u003c/a>. But according to KQED Education’s own Janelle Kim, this could be a great opportunity for a drinking game. Her suggestions include: a shot every time a vampire sparkles, or when Kristen Stewart has a dramatic Acting Moment (screaming Jacob’s name, scoffing, etc.) Try not to pass out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"ahostofTwilightthemedeventslocally\">\u003c/a> \u003cstrong>Go to a \u003cem>Twilight\u003c/em> concert or party\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cem>Twilight in Concert\u003c/em>, with live orchestra accompaniment, has a San Jose stop on Sept. 26. Tickets range from \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.ticketmaster.com/twilight-in-concert-san-jose-california-09-26-2025/event/1C0062B0B14A5BA2\">$59 to $253\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNEzBPIJFnr/\">The Midway\u003c/a> in San Francisco is holding a \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>rave on Oct. 18. Tickets on \u003ca href=\"https://www.tixr.com/groups/midwaysf/events/twilight-rave-149504?fbclid=PAQ0xDSwLKxi5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABp9miL9NrJYR-NGf7BYt0jl2PNYrkS_KanDSOxRNOoI6LUTfdUWUNb86HgWNt_aem_Lr2EzHfI5CCps5yTCjebAQ\">the website\u003c/a> are sold out, but there is a chance that some of those people will drop out by mid-October.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/twilight-night-at-books-inc-mountain-view-tickets-1471255367409\">Books Inc.\u003c/a> in Mountain View is hosting a free \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>party on Oct. 25.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>For any \u003cem>Twilight\u003c/em> fans who cross over with Anne Rice’s \u003cem>Interview with the Vampire\u003c/em>, you can take the pilgrim to \u003ca href=\"https://www.lexlawgroup.com/our-office/\">the Nob Hill house\u003c/a> where the book takes place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"title": "Long Live ‘Twilight’: Bay Area Fans Memorialize The Messy, Beautiful Legacy of Vampire Romance | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The date was Nov. 10, 2008. Barack Obama had just become America’s first Black president. A new artist named Lady Gaga had released her debut album\u003cem>. \u003c/em>The U.S. was just one month from an official recession.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in San Francisco, the city’s Stonestown Galleria mall was brimming with the anxious energy of \u003ca href=\"https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2008/11/10/twilight-star-robert-pattinson-sparks-pandemonium-at-stonestown-galleria-in-s-f/\">three thousand fans\u003c/a> of the \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>book series by Stephenie Meyer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The crowd had gathered to meet the actor playing the lead in a brand-new movie adaptation: Robert Pattinson. But only the first few hundred would be able to actually meet the aloof British actor — who wasn’t yet a star \u003cem>— \u003c/em>in the mall’s relatively tiny Hot Topic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tmz.com/2008/11/10/bloodsuckers-trample-kids-at-twilight-signing/\">As TMZ reported\u003c/a>, mayhem ensued as attendees began pushing forward, hoping to be the lucky first few. In what ABC 7 described as \u003ca href=\"https://abc7news.com/archive/7108032/\">“near rioting,” \u003c/a>the crowd collided, with fans being trampled and one girl reportedly breaking her nose. The event was promptly canceled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12057506\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12057506\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/TMZ_resized.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/TMZ_resized.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/TMZ_resized-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/TMZ_resized-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Entertainment outlet TMZ reported on the Stonestown Galleria ‘Twilight’ fan incident in 2008. \u003ccite>(Screenshot via TMZ.com)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I remember seeing the girl on the news, ‘I love ‘\u003cem>Twilight\u003c/em>’ so much,’ blood coming out of her nostrils,” Pattinson — who has admittedly owned up \u003ca href=\"https://variety.com/2024/film/news/robert-pattinson-lied-interview-clown-death-explosion-1236234848/\">to lying in press interviews out of boredom\u003c/a> — told \u003ca href=\"https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/movies-tv/robert-pattinson-recalls-stonestown-mall-riot-and-getting-weird-in-lighthouse\">SFGATE in 2019\u003c/a>. “It was spectacular, you couldn’t have paid for better promotion.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Throwing caution to the wind, Stonestown Galleria dared to hold another \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>meet-and-greet the following year to celebrate the release of the sequel, \u003cem>New Moon\u003c/em>, featuring two members of the supporting cast. Relying on \u003ca href=\"https://abc7chicago.com/archive/7108032/\">extra security\u003c/a>, the mall avoided a repeat of the 2008 crush.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Jump straight to: \u003ca href=\"#ahostofTwilightthemedeventslocally\">\u003cem>Twilight\u003c/em>-themed events around the Bay Area\u003c/a>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>One of the fans in attendance, 16-year-old Kathalina Lopez of Richmond, told \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/twilight-stars-thrill-hundreds-in-s-f-3281369.php\">SFGate\u003c/a> that \u003cem>she \u003c/em>heard the girl who got hurt in 2008 got to meet Pattinson that day after all. “I want to get trampled now,” Lopez said wistfully.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12057472\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1998px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12057472\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/twilight1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1998\" height=\"1332\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/twilight1.jpg 1998w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/twilight1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/twilight1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1998px) 100vw, 1998px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The newest installment of the “Twilight” movie series comes out later this month. And one of the stars, Kellan Lutz, signed an autograph in the parking lot of the Stonestown Mall in San Francisco, California, on Monday, Nov. 9, 2009. \u003ccite>(\tSan Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers/Contributor)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This October will mark 20 years since Meyer’s first \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>book was published, spawning three more novels and launching the wildly popular film franchise starring Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. In honor of the anniversary, \u003ca href=\"#thefilmswillreturntotheaters\"> the films will return to theaters, accompanied by\u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"#ahostofTwilightthemedeventslocally\"> a host of \u003cem>Twilight-\u003c/em>themed events locally that include\u003c/a>\u003ca href=\"https://www.ticketmaster.com/twilight-in-concert-san-jose-california-09-26-2025/event/1C0062B0B14A5BA2\"> a San Jose screening on Friday, accompanied by a live orchestra.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But here in the Bay Area, affection for the vampire romance saga — and the meaning fans drew from it — never truly died.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Twenty years of \u003cem>Twilight\u003c/em>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The initial fandom sparked by Meyer’s books — following shy teen Bella Swan as she falls in love with brooding fellow student Edward, who is in fact a century-old vampire — went supernova in 2008 with the release of the first film adaptation, \u003cem>Twilight\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Directed by Catherine Hardwicke of rebellious-\u003ca href=\"https://girlsontopstees.com/en-us/blogs/read-me/we-owe-our-girlhood-to-catherine-hardwicke?srsltid=AfmBOooCke_bhQWQDwLyYYj05Go5kGnPAknUBhoOLxlCf-YMH0O3IZJA\">girlhood blueprint \u003cem>Thirteen\u003c/em>\u003c/a>, the movie’s mix of longing, emo-meets-goth-meets-Livejournal-entry \u003ca href=\"https://www.instyle.com/twilight-bella-swan-fall-fashion-trend-tiktok-8719317\">aesthetics\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@letterboxd/video/7534776041483635998\">2000s aquamarine filters \u003c/a>immediately found its audience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the years that followed, four more sequels from three different (male) directors ensued through 2012, bringing plots that expanded beyond supernatural high school romance into European vampire cabals and werewolf battles. The saga also ignited \u003ca href=\"https://www.netflix.com/title/70143860\">a paranormal\u003c/a> romance trend and launched the careers of Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, whose doomed \u003ca href=\"https://people.com/kristen-stewart-robert-pattinson-relationship-timeline-7503049\">real-life romance\u003c/a> only fueled fans’ feverish interest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eight years later, the films’ \u003ca href=\"https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/twilight-renaissance\">popular resurgence\u003c/a> arrived during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic — and boosted hugely by the availability of all five movies on streaming platforms when most of the United States was under stay-at-home orders. As my San Francisco friend Jenny George notes, suddenly, many more people could relate to the scene in \u003cem>New Moon\u003c/em>, where a forlorn Bella sits statue-still in her room as the months and seasons pass by her.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>“It’s kind of how [depression] goes sometimes,” George, who recalls streaming the movies back-to-back during lockdown. “I thought it was a pretty astute way to show how empty she was.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Social media during this period had evolved into something very different from the 2010s landscape the movies were first born into, with Twitter, \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2F8jotfjccyjv11.jpg\">Tumblr\u003c/a>, Reddit and \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@roppongi52/video/7540858691138931981\">TikTok \u003c/a>generating and spreading \u003ca href=\"https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcThqxr0gbZ2RR871ex22ujpShKu0_Px4_ILpg&s\">memes \u003c/a>like wildfire.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>And the movies – achingly sincere and embracing the rollercoaster of emotions that come with being a teenager in love – were a goldmine for social media content: Edward declaring, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHse6q92lb0\">“This is the skin of a killer, Bella.”\u003c/a> A vampires-play-baseball scene soundtracked to Muse’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbMLXZsJ1P8\">“Supermassive Blackhole”\u003c/a>. An uncanny CGI \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgI_oMMIU0E\">vampire-human hybrid baby\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px; min-width: 325px;\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@caiticlare89/video/7302233520729115935\" data-video-id=\"7302233520729115935\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@caiticlare89\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@caiticlare89?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@caiticlare89\u003c/a> Mask off \u003ca title=\"titussburgess\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/titussburgess?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#titussburgess\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"tituss\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/tituss?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#tituss\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"twilight\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/twilight?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#twilight\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"twilightsaga\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/twilightsaga?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#twilightsaga\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"twilighttiktok\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/twilighttiktok?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#twilighttiktok\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"renesmee\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/renesmee?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#renesmee\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"bellaswan\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/bellaswan?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#bellaswan\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"edwardcullen\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/edwardcullen?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#edwardcullen\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"jacobblack\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/jacobblack?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#jacobblack\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ original sound - Bleak Salvation\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7302233522868161310?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ original sound – Bleak Salvation\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Suddenly, the \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>saga was seen as something of a camp masterpiece. \u003ca href=\"https://buggirl200.com/blogs/news/a-t-shirt-shop-for-the-semi-ironic-twilight-fan\">Semi-ironic\u003c/a> merchandise sold out online. Rowdy drag screenings took over venues like San Francisco’s \u003ca href=\"https://roxie.com/film/twilight-2008/\">Roxie Theater\u003c/a>. Even \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTMJaXuRe/\">Pattinson, a famous hater of his own franchise,\u003c/a> gave credit to \u003ca href=\"https://www.billboard.com/culture/tv-film/robert-pattinson-interview-twilight-soundtracks-8505754/\">its excellent soundtrack\u003c/a>. \u003cem>Twilight\u003c/em> fan Sophie Kim, an assistant producer at KQED, noted that fans who were too young when the movies first came out are now selling old \u003cem>Twilight\u003c/em> items on resale app Depop “like it’s Balenciaga.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12057507\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12057507\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Olivia-Rodrigo_resized.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Olivia-Rodrigo_resized.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Olivia-Rodrigo_resized-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Olivia-Rodrigo_resized-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An Instagram post from Olivia Rodrigo displaying an Edward and Bella-themed purse. \u003ccite>(Olivia Rodrigo/Instagram)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>KQED’s Vicky Chung, who grew up watching the movies in Sunnyvale theaters, has the books on her desk and a \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@bexterhexter/video/7530218141532622102\">“Where the hell have you been loca?”\u003c/a> mug in hand, proudly: because people just \u003cem>get it\u003c/em> now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s no point in feeling a little guilty about my guilty pleasure,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Reclaiming \u003cem>Twilight\u003c/em>\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Despite the movies making billions of dollars upon release, \u003ca href=\"https://www.tmz.com/2008/11/10/bloodsuckers-trample-kids-at-twilight-signing/\">contemporary coverage\u003c/a> of moments like the 2008 Stonestown Galleria incident exemplifies how the mostly young, mostly female “Twihard” fandom was originally \u003ca href=\"https://www.flowjournal.org/2009/12/rabid-obsessed-and-frenzied-understanding-twilight-fangirls-and-the-gendered-politics-of-fandom-melissa-click-university-of-missouri/\">mocked or derided\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carrying signs that read \u003ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2009/jul/29/comic-con-2009-revenge-nerds\">“\u003cem>Twilight\u003c/em> has RUINED Comic-Con,” \u003c/a>male comic book fans protested the Twihards at the annual San Diego fandom convention — unaware that \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/cjsocrayzee/status/1943795663227302259?s=46&t=7BBzFwo6eYLzJIVfAlumEQ\">Pattinson would cross over into their fandom \u003c/a>to become \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Batman_(film)\">their Batman \u003c/a>within a mere 13 years. And KQED’s Kim, who grew up in Orange County, recalled that growing up, for every girl reading the book in her school cafeteria to look “really mysterious,” there was a teenage boy mocking her interests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px; min-width: 325px;\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@netflixlat/video/7351273567100734726\" data-video-id=\"7351273567100734726\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@netflixlat\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@netflixlat?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@netflixlat\u003c/a> Esta escena es icónica en cualquier idioma 🐺 \u003ca title=\"crepusculo\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/crepusculo?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#Crepusculo\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"lunanueva\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/lunanueva?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#LunaNueva\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"crepusculolunanueva\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/crepusculolunanueva?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#CrepusculoLunaNueva\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"twilight\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/twilight?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#Twilight\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"twilightnewmoon\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/twilightnewmoon?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#TwilightNewMoon\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"jacob\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/jacob?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#Jacob\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"jacobblack\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/jacobblack?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#JacobBlack\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"bella\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/bella?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#Bella\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"bellaswan\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/bellaswan?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#BellaSwan\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"loca\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/loca?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#Loca\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"wherehaveyoubeenloca\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/wherehaveyoubeenloca?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#WhereHaveYouBeenLoca\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"meme\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/meme?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#Meme\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"idiomas\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/idiomas?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#Idiomas\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"tiktokmehizover\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/tiktokmehizover?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#TikTokMeHizoVer\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"peliculas\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/peliculas?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#Peliculas\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"netflix\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/netflix?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#Netflix\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"parati\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/parati?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#ParaTi\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ Dónde rayos te has metido loca. Crepúsculo. - Netflix Latinoamérica\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/D%C3%B3nde-rayos-te-has-metido-loca-Crep%C3%BAsculo-7351273603133917958?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ Dónde rayos te has metido loca. Crepúsculo. – Netflix Latinoamérica\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But in the intervening years, culture enjoyed by young women and their mothers became (\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O06tMbIKh0\">something) less of a popular punching bag\u003c/a>. 2023 \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2023/12/27/1221483930/girl-economy-taylor-swift-beyonce-barbie-2023\">was even declared\u003c/a> by \u003ca href=\"https://mashable.com/article/2023-girl-trends-barbie\">some outlets\u003c/a> as the \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/C4l5yHdpT-b/\">‘Year of The Girl,’\u003c/a> in recognition of the phenomenal cultural — and economic — impact of \u003cem>Barbie,\u003c/em> along with high-grossing stadium tours from Taylor Swift and Beyoncé. The \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>saga was, Kim said, “just too ahead of its time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12057479\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12057479\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Twilight-Photo-Collage.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1240\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Twilight-Photo-Collage.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Twilight-Photo-Collage-160x103.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Twilight-Photo-Collage-1536x992.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eden Crowhurst growing up in Livermore, right, Twilight memorabilia from KQED’s Vicky Chung, left. \u003ccite>(Darren Tu/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Twilight’\u003c/em>s popular reclamation has also been driven in large part by recognition of its queer credentials. Actor Stewart, who came out as queer in 2017, told \u003ca href=\"https://variety.com/2024/film/features/kristen-stewart-coming-out-twilight-gay-sundance-sex-scenes-1235867627/\">\u003cem>Variety\u003c/em>\u003c/a> that “it’s such a gay movie,” and that its themes of dangerous desire are “a very Gothic, gay inclination that I love.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Daly City artist and \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>fan Amie Sarazan agrees wholeheartedly, calling the series “a foundational work of bisexual panic.” For Sarazan, the saga is “at once, this pop cultural juggernaut and also this bizarre indie movie that shouldn’t be as weird as it is.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12057508\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12057508\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/I-survived_resized.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/I-survived_resized.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/I-survived_resized-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/I-survived_resized-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An Instagram post from buggirl200brand of a Twilight-themed shirt.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Sarazan, a costume designer for stars like Trixie Mattel and Peaches Christ, watches the \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>movies on a loop while sewing for their drag clientele. And for their birthday last year, they convinced Bay Area collective \u003ca href=\"https://mediameltdown.tv/\">Media Meltdown\u003c/a> to turn the retro 4-Star Theater in San Francisco’s Richmond District into an adoring \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>drag tribute.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>During the party, performer \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/cheetahbiscotti/?hl=en\">Cheetah Biscotti\u003c/a> strutted down the aisle, ripping off their shirt like the scorned werewolf Jacob Black. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/piranha_psychotronica/?hl=en\">Piranha Psychotronica\u003c/a> touched Sarazan’s hand and read their mind – mimicking the saga’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZrvflNZPCM\">unhinged villain Aro \u003c/a>portrayed by Martin Sheen – as \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>erotica blared in the background. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/kafka.drag/?hl=en\">Kafka X\u003c/a> bit Sarazan’s neck, making them “forever 39.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sarazan was even dressed as Vampire Bella herself in a dark navy blue dress with tinted sunglasses to mimic blood-red eyes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12057509\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12057509 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Amie-photoshoot_resized.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Amie-photoshoot_resized.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Amie-photoshoot_resized-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/Amie-photoshoot_resized-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An image from Amie Sarazan’s ‘Twilight’-themed birthday photoshoot. Photo provided by Nicole Fraser-Herron.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Afterward, Sarazan cued up that night’s screening: the fourth installment of the saga, \u003cem>Breaking Dawn: Part 1. \u003c/em>They recall being “in full delight” watching their friends scream during the film’s wilder moments, including a pregnant Bella receiving an emergency C-section from her vampire husband using his teeth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Because my experience in a female body has been one of body horror,” they said, “I like to inflict that on my friends.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>‘Twilight’ as text\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Twenty years after the \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>book series was released into the world, the novels and the movies they spawned have also become the focus of academic study — opening up the thornier aspects of the saga to critical appraisal from fans and students alike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recent graduate Eden Crowhurst, who taught a student class on the \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>saga at UC Berkeley, said she was compelled to create this course after seeing franchises deemed more “acceptable for boys to read” be the center of other classes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Crowhurst, whose appreciation for the saga was cultivated by her \u003cem>Twilight\u003c/em>-loving family, wanted to prove that a series with a mostly female fanbase could be discussed in an academic sense.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After all, for many, \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>is a truly \u003ca href=\"https://womensenews.org/2025/06/watching-twilight-in-a-post-roe-america-hits-differently/\">loaded text\u003c/a>, with a lot to dissect even after all of these years, she said — everything from innocence and love to sex and chastity, interwoven with themes from Meyer’s own Mormon faith. There’s also an upholding of whiteness – especially among vampires, who are described as incredibly pale and beautiful – and the depictions of an indigenous tribe that Meyer “Christianizes” in “every sense of the word,” Crowhurst said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" style=\"max-width: 605px; min-width: 325px;\" cite=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@dantehotsauce/video/7420595982489947422\" data-video-id=\"7420595982489947422\">\n\u003csection>\u003ca title=\"@dantehotsauce\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@dantehotsauce?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">@dantehotsauce\u003c/a> i cant escape mormonism \u003ca title=\"twilight\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/twilight?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#twilight\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"twilightsaga\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/tag/twilightsaga?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#twilightsaga\u003c/a> \u003ca title=\"♬ Originalton - moetdaddy\" href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/music/Originalton-7317970034784422689?refer=embed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">♬ Originalton – moetdaddy\u003c/a>\u003c/section>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Noting the “perfect bad media” aspect of \u003cem>Twilight’s \u003c/em>resurgence, Crowhurst stresses the escapism inherent in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O06tMbIKh0\">much-derided romance genre\u003c/a> of which the series is a part, despite its horror trappings. It’s no accident that the series found true popularity during the 2008 recession, she said — with hero Edward providing a fantasy of protecting Bella physically and financially.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Romance is the one place where women can really be like, ‘No, this is what I want,'” Crowhurst said. “And \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>is kind of the blueprint for these things.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Crowhurst wants her fellow students to critically engage with \u003cem>Twilight’\u003c/em>s myriad contradictions, too. “It’s such a weird book series because again, it toes the line,” she said. “The reception can be feminist, but also the content is very conservative.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And ultimately, for Crowhurst, this complexity holds true for the saga’s legacy itself. “People take \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>nowadays more seriously — and less seriously,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>How you can observe 20 years of \u003cem>Twilight\u003c/em> in the Bay Area\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Internalize the \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>vibe\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>First off, listen to Sarazan: Washington-set \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>is not a “Halloween movie” but \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjGLNDuhTc0\">“a rainy season movie”\u003c/a> — and the Bay has \u003cem>plenty \u003c/em>of gloomy,\u003cem> “\u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-XUZgrCCjzo\">\u003cem>hoa-hoa-hoa-hoa\u003c/em>\u003c/a>” brooding spots here if you want to observe the 20th anniversary properly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED has a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12049568/best-bay-area-hikes-for-cold-gloomy-weather\">round-up of spaces\u003c/a> perfect for overcast days, including Tomales Bay in Point Reyes and the eucalyptus groves in El Granada. Just be sure to bring your \u003ca href=\"https://www.amazon.com/ASVP-Shop-Original-Twilight-Filter/dp/B0CDNMYZM7\">\u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>filter lens\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"thefilmswillreturntotheaters\">\u003c/a> \u003cstrong>Attend a \u003cem>Twilight\u003c/em> movie screening\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To mark the 20th anniversary of the \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>book series’ publication, studio Lionsgate is \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/reel/1185872683714959\">bringing\u003c/a> the entire \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>series back to theaters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Major chains across the Bay Area are showing each movie in \u003cem>The Twilight Saga\u003c/em>, mostly from Oct. 29 to Nov. 2:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>San Francisco screenings: \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/amc-metreon-16-aanem/theater-page?format=all&date=2025-10-29\">AMC Metreon 16\u003c/a> in San Francisco\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>East Bay screenings:\u003c/em> AMC Bay Street 16 in Emeryville; \u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/cinemark-century-hilltop-16-aaqal/theater-page?format=all&date=2025-11-02\">Cinemark Century Hilltop 16\u003c/a> in Richmond; \u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/cinemark-century-bayfair-mall-16-aapic/theater-page?format=all&date=2025-11-02\">Cinemark Century Bayfair Mall 16\u003c/a> in San Leandro; \u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/cinemark-century-at-hayward-aavac/theater-page?format=all&date=2025-10-29\">Cinemark Century\u003c/a> in Hayward; \u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/cinemark-century-walnut-creek-14-and-xd-aarar/theater-page?format=all&date=2025-10-29\">Cinemark Century Walnut Creek 14\u003c/a> in Walnut Creek; \u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/cinemark-century-downtown-pleasant-hill-16-and-xd-aaqam/theater-page?format=all&date=2025-10-29\">Cinemark Century Downtown Pleasant Hill 16\u003c/a> in Pleasant Hill; \u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/cinemark-century-union-landing-25-and-xd-aanay/theater-page?format=all\">Cinemark Century\u003c/a> in Union City; \u003ca href=\"https://www.amctheatres.com/movies/the-twilight-saga-new-moon-2009-re-81105/showtimes?date=2025-10-30\">AMC NewPark 12\u003c/a> in Newark; \u003ca href=\"https://www.amctheatres.com/movies/the-twilight-saga-new-moon-2009-re-81105/showtimes?date=2025-10-30\">AMC Brentwood 14\u003c/a> in Brentwood; \u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/regal-hacienda-crossings-screenx-imax-and-rpx-aaopk/theater-page?format=all&date=2025-10-29\">Regal Hacienda Crossings\u003c/a> in Dublin; \u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/cinemark-century-vallejo-14-aapis/theater-page?format=all\">Cinemark Century\u003c/a> in Vallejo\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>North Bay screenings: \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/regal-edwards-fairfield-and-imax-aandk/theater-page?format=all&date=2025-10-29\">Regal Edwards\u003c/a> in Fairfield; \u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/cinemark-century-great-mall-20-xd-and-screenx-aapcg/theater-page?format=all&date=2025-10-29\">Cinemark Century Great Mall\u003c/a> in Milpitas; \u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/cinemark-century-napa-valley-and-xd-aawtt/theater-page?format=all&date=2025-10-29\">Cinemark Century\u003c/a> in Napa\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>South Bay screenings: \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/cinemark-century-daly-city-20-xd-and-imax-aaqlt/theater-page?format=all&date=2025-10-29\">Cinemark Century Daly City 20\u003c/a> in Daly City; \u003ca href=\"https://www.cinemark.com/theatres/ca-san-mateo/cinemark-century-san-mateo-12\">Cinemark Century\u003c/a> in San Mateo; \u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/cinepolis-luxury-cinemas-san-mateo-aayrv/theater-page?format=all&date=2025-10-29\">Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas\u003c/a> in San Mateo; \u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/cinemark-century-redwood-downtown-20-and-xd-aaubf/theater-page?format=all&date=2025-10-29\">Cinemark Century\u003c/a> in Redwood City; \u003ca href=\"https://www.amctheatres.com/movies/the-twilight-saga-new-moon-2009-re-81105/showtimes?date=2025-10-30\">AMC Mercado 20\u003c/a> in Santa Clara; \u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/cinemark-century-mountain-view-16-aacfx/theater-page?format=all&date=2025-10-29\">Cinemark Century\u003c/a> in Mountain View; \u003ca href=\"https://www.fandango.com/cinemark-century-at-pacific-commons-and-xd-aawqb/theater-page?format=all\">Cinemark Century at Pacific Commons\u003c/a> in Fremont; \u003ca href=\"https://www.amctheatres.com/movies/the-twilight-saga-new-moon-2009-re-81105/showtimes?date=2025-10-30\">AMC Saratoga 14\u003c/a> in San Jose; \u003ca href=\"https://www.amctheatres.com/movies/the-twilight-saga-new-moon-2009-re-81105/showtimes?date=2025-10-30\">AMC Eastridge 15\u003c/a> in San Jose\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you’d like to host your own screening, be prepared to pay around $4 for an online rental: the movies have \u003ca href=\"https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/articles/twilight-leaving-netflix-where-watch-163000433.html\">recently been pulled from Netflix\u003c/a>. But according to KQED Education’s own Janelle Kim, this could be a great opportunity for a drinking game. Her suggestions include: a shot every time a vampire sparkles, or when Kristen Stewart has a dramatic Acting Moment (screaming Jacob’s name, scoffing, etc.) Try not to pass out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca id=\"ahostofTwilightthemedeventslocally\">\u003c/a> \u003cstrong>Go to a \u003cem>Twilight\u003c/em> concert or party\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003cem>Twilight in Concert\u003c/em>, with live orchestra accompaniment, has a San Jose stop on Sept. 26. Tickets range from \u003cem>\u003ca href=\"https://www.ticketmaster.com/twilight-in-concert-san-jose-california-09-26-2025/event/1C0062B0B14A5BA2\">$59 to $253\u003c/a>\u003c/em>.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/reel/DNEzBPIJFnr/\">The Midway\u003c/a> in San Francisco is holding a \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>rave on Oct. 18. Tickets on \u003ca href=\"https://www.tixr.com/groups/midwaysf/events/twilight-rave-149504?fbclid=PAQ0xDSwLKxi5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABp9miL9NrJYR-NGf7BYt0jl2PNYrkS_KanDSOxRNOoI6LUTfdUWUNb86HgWNt_aem_Lr2EzHfI5CCps5yTCjebAQ\">the website\u003c/a> are sold out, but there is a chance that some of those people will drop out by mid-October.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/twilight-night-at-books-inc-mountain-view-tickets-1471255367409\">Books Inc.\u003c/a> in Mountain View is hosting a free \u003cem>Twilight \u003c/em>party on Oct. 25.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>For any \u003cem>Twilight\u003c/em> fans who cross over with Anne Rice’s \u003cem>Interview with the Vampire\u003c/em>, you can take the pilgrim to \u003ca href=\"https://www.lexlawgroup.com/our-office/\">the Nob Hill house\u003c/a> where the book takes place.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"rss": "https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0gn.rss"
}
},
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"id": "californiareport",
"title": "The California Report",
"tagline": "California, day by day",
"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 8
},
"link": "/californiareport",
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},
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"id": "californiareportmagazine",
"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
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"order": 10
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
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},
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"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
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"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
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"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
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"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
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"order": 1
},
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"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
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"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"order": 9
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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},
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"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
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"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
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},
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"id": "fresh-air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
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"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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"how-i-built-this": {
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"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
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"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549",
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
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},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
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"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
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"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
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}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
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"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"subscribe": {
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510360/podcast.xml"
}
},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
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